ALBERT

Description: This presentation reviews the International Lunar Network (ILN) mission, a cooperative effort designed to coordinate individual lunar landers in a geophysical network on the lunar surface. The presentation also includes information on the geophysical network, mission operations, and recent accomplishments.

Description: Amino acid analysis of a meteorite fragment of asteroid 2008 TC(sub 3) called Almahata Sitta was carried out using reverse-phase high-perfo rmance liquid chromatography coupled with UV fluorescence detection a nd time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-FD/ToF-MS) as part of a sam ple analysis consortium. HPLC analyses of hot-water extracts from the meteorite revealed a complex distribution of two- to six-carbon aliph atic amino acids and one- to three carbon amines with abundances rang ing from 0.5 to 149 parts-per-billion (ppb). The enantiomeric ratios of the amino acids alanine, Beta-amino-n-butyric acid (Beta-ABA), 2-amino-2- methylbutanoic acid (isovaline), and 2-aminopentanoic acid (no rvaline) in the meteorite were racemic (D/L approximately 1), indicat ing that these amino acids are indigenous to the meteorite and not te rrestrial contaminants. Several other non-protein amino acids were also identified in the meteorite above background levels including alpha -aminoisobutyric acid (alpha-AIB), 4-amino-2- methybutanoic acid, 4-a mino-3-methylbutanoic acid, and 3-, 4-, and 5-aminopentanoic acid. Th e total abundances of isovaline and AlB in Almahata Sitta are approximately 1000 times lower than the abundances of these amino acids found in the CM carbonaceous meteorite Murchison. The extremely love abund ances and unusual distribution of five carbon amino acids in Almahata Sitta compared to Cl, CM, and CR carbonaceous meteorites and may be due to extensive thermal alteration of amino acids on the parent aster oid by partial melting during formation or impact shock heating.

Description: The Greenland Ice Sheet has been the focus of much attention recently because of increasing melt in response to regional climate warming. To improve our ability to measure surface melt, we use remote-sensing data products to study surface and near-surface melt characteristics of the Greenland Ice Sheet for the 2007 melt season when record melt extent and runoff occurred. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) daily land-surface temperature (LST), MODIS daily snow albedo, and a special diurnal melt product derived from QuikSCAT (QS) scatterometer data, are all effective in measuring the evolution of melt on the ice sheet. These daily products, produced from different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, are sensitive to different geophysical features, though QS- and MODIS-derived melt generally show excellent correspondence when surface melt is present on the ice sheet. Values derived from the daily MODIS snow albedo product drop in response to melt, and change with apparent grain-size changes. For the 2007 melt season, the QS and MODIS LST products detect 862,769 square kilometers and 766,184 square kilometers of melt, respectively. The QS product detects about 11% greater melt extent than is detected by the MODIS LST product probably because QS is more sensitive to surface melt, and can detect subsurface melt. The consistency of the response of the different products demonstrates unequivocally that physically-meaningful melt/freeze boundaries can be detected. We have demonstrated that these products, used together, can improve the precision in mapping surface and near-surface melt extent on the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Description: The distribution and enantiomeric composition of the 5-carbon (C(sub 5)) amino acids found in Cl-, CM-, and CR-type carbonaceous meteorites were investigated by using liquid chromatography fluorescence detection/TOF-MS coupled with o-phthaldialdehyde/Nacetyl- l-cysteine derivatization. A large L-enantiomeric excess (ee) of the a-methyl amino acid isovaline was found in the CM meteorite Murchison (L(sub ee) = 18.5 +/- 2.6%) and the Cl meteorite Orguell (L(sub ee) = 15.2 +/- 4.0%). The measured value for Murchison is the largest enantiomeric excess in any meteorite reported to date, and the Orgueil measurement of an isovaline excess has not been reported previously for this or any Cl meteorite. The L-isovaline enrichments in these two carbonaceous meteorites cannot be the result of interference from other C(sub 5) amino acid isomers present in the samples, analytical biases, or terrestrial amino acid contamination. We observed no L-isovaline enrichment for the most primitive unaltered Antarctic CR meteorites EET 92042 and QUE 99177. These results are inconsistent with UV circularly polarized light as the primary mechanism for L-isovaline enrichment and indicate that amplification of a small initial isovaline asymmetry in Murchison and Orgueil occurred during an extended aqueous alteration phase on the meteorite parent bodies. The large asymmetry in isovaline and other alpha-dialkyl amino acids found in altered Ct and CM meteorites suggests that amino acids delivered by asteroids, comets, and their fragments would have biased the Earth's prebiotic organic inventory with left-handed molecules before the origin of life.

Description: We present the mass X-ray observable scaling relationships for clusters of galaxies using the XMM-Newton cluster catalog of Snowden et al. Our results are roughly consistent with previous observational and theoretical work, with one major exception. We find 2-3 times the scatter around the best fit mass scaling relationships as expected from cluster simulations or seen in other observational studies. We suggest that this is a consequence of using hydrostatic mass, as opposed to virial mass, and is due to the explicit dependence of the hydrostatic mass on the gradients of the temperature and gas density profiles. We find a larger range of slope in the cluster temperature profiles at radii 500 than previous observational studies. Additionally, we find only a weak dependence of the gas mass fraction on cluster mass, consistent with a constant. Our average gas mass fraction results also argue for a closer study of the systematic errors due to instrumental calibration and modeling method variations between analyses. We suggest that a more careful study of the differences between various observational results and with cluster simulations is needed to understand sources of bias and scatter in cosmological studies of galaxy clusters.

Description: Variations in agricultural production due to rainfall and temperature fluctuations are a primary cause of food insecurity on the continent in Africa. Agriculturally destructive droughts and floods are monitored from space using satellite remote sensing by organizations seeking to provide quantitative and predictive information about food security crises. Better knowledge on the relation between climate indices and food production may increase the use of these indices in famine early warning systems and climate outlook forums on the continent. Here we explore the relationship between phenology metrics derived from the 26 year AVHRR NDVI record and the North Atlantic Oscillation index (NAO), the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), the Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI) and the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). We explore spatial relationships between growing conditions as measured by the NDVI and the five climate indices in Eastern, Western and Southern Africa to determine the regions and periods when they have a significant impact. The focus is to provide a clear indication as to which climate index has the most impact on the three regions during the past quarter century. We found that the start of season and cumulative NDVI were significantly affected by variations in the climate indices. The particular climate index and the timing showing highest correlation depended heavily on the region examined. The research shows that climate indices can contribute to understanding growing season variability in Eastern, Western and Southern Africa.

Description: El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) related anomalies were analyzed using a combination of satellite measurements of elevated sea surface temperatures, and subsequent elevated rainfall and satellite derived normalized difference vegetation index data. A Rift Valley fever risk mapping model using these climate data predicted areas where outbreaks of Rift Valley fever in humans and animals were expected and occurred in the Horn of Africa from December 2006 to May 2007. The predictions were subsequently confirmed by entomological and epidemiological field investigations of virus activity in the areas identified as at risk. Accurate spatial and temporal predictions of disease activity, as it occurred first in southern Somalia and then through much of Kenya before affecting northern Tanzania, provided a 2 to 6 week period of warning for the Horn of Africa that facilitated disease outbreak response and mitigation activities. This is the first prospective prediction of a Rift Valley fever outbreak.

Description: A novel method is introduced for integrating satellite derived irrigation data and high-resolution crop type information into a land surface model (LSM). The objective is to improve the simulation of land surface states and fluxes through better representation of agricultural land use. Ultimately, this scheme could enable numerical weather prediction (NWP) models to capture land-atmosphere feedbacks in managed lands more accurately and thus improve forecast skill. Here we show that application of the new irrigation scheme over the continental US significantly influences the surface water and energy balances by modulating the partitioning of water between the surface and the atmosphere. In our experiment, irrigation caused a 12% increase in evapotranspiration (QLE) and an equivalent reduction in the sensible heat flux (QH) averaged over all irrigated areas in the continental US during the 2003 growing season. Local effects were more extreme: irrigation shifted more than 100 W/m from QH to QLE in many locations in California, eastern Idaho, southern Washington, and southern Colorado during peak crop growth. In these cases, the changes in ground heat flux (QG), net radiation (RNET), evapotranspiration (ET), runoff (R), and soil moisture (SM) were more than 3 W/m(sup 2), 20 W/m(sup 2), 5 mm/day, 0.3 mm/day, and 100 mm, respectively. These results are highly relevant to continental- to global-scale water and energy cycle studies that, to date, have struggled to quantify the effects of agricultural management practices such as irrigation. Based on the results presented here, we expect that better representation of managed lands will lead to improved weather and climate forecasting skill when the new irrigation scheme is incorporated into NWP models such as NOAA's Global Forecast System (GFS).

Description: Titan displays seasonal changes in the distribution of gas and hazes in its atmosphere, in the character of its methane clouds, and in its temperatures and winds. While Cassini has observed some of these cha rges in detail, some are observable from Earth, and the period of mos t rapid change may be just about to begin in the years after equinox,

Description: An earlier issue presents the first half of the author's experience living and working at the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Greenland Summit Camp. The author is a remote-sensing glaciologist at NASA s Goddard Space Flight Center. She took measurements that will be used to validate data collected by NASA s Aqua, Terra, and Ice, Clouds, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) satellites with ground-truth measurements of the Greenland Ice Sheet she made at Summit Camp from November 2008-February 2009. This article presents excerpts from the second half of her stay and work at the Greenland Summit.

Description: Titan, after Venus, is the second example in the solar system of an atmosphere with a global cyclostrophic circulation, but in this case a circulation that has a strong seasonal modulation in the middle atmosphere. Direct measurement of Titan's winds, particularly observations tracking the Huygens probe at 10 deg S, indicate that the zonal winds are mostly in the sense of the satellite's rotation. They generally increase with altitude and become cyclostrophic near 35 km above the surface. An exception to this is a sharp minimum centered near 75 km, where the wind velocity decreases to nearly zero. Zonal winds derived from temperatures retrieved from Cassini orbiter measurements, using the thermal wind equation, indicate a strong winter circumpolar vortex, with maximum winds of 190 m/s at mid northern latitudes near 300 km. Above this level, the vortex decays. Curiously, the stratospheric zonal winds and temperatures in both hemispheres are symmetric about a pole that is offset from the surface pole by about 4 deg. The cause of this is not well understood, but it may reflect the response of a cyclostrophic circulation to the onset between the equator, where the distance to the rotation axis is greatest, and the seasonally varying subsolar latitude. The mean meridional circulation can be inferred from the temperature field and the meridional distribution of organic molecules and condensates and hazes. Both the warm temperatures near 400 km and the enhanced concentration of several organic molecules suggest subsidence in the north polar region during winter and early spring. Stratospheric condensates are localized at high northern latitudes, with a sharp cut-off near 50 deg N. Titan's winter polar vortex appears to share many of the same characteristics of isolating high and low-latitude air masses as do the winter polar vortices on Earth that envelop the ozone holes. Global mapping of temperatures, winds, and composition in the troposphere, by contrast, is incomplete. The few suitable discrete clouds that have been found for tracking indicate smaller velocities than aloft, consistent: with the Huygens measurements, Along the descent trajectory, the Huygens measurements indicate eastward zonal winds down to 7 km, where they shift westward, and then eastward again below 1 km dawn to the surface. The low-latitude dune fields seen in Cassini RADAR images have been interpreted as longitudinal dunes occurring in a mean eastward zonal wind. This is not like Earth, where the low-latitude winds are westward above the surface. Because the net zonal-mean time-averaged torque exerted by the surface on the atmosphere should vanish, there must be westward flow over part of the surface; the question is where and when. The meridional contrast in tropospheric temperatures deduced from radio occultations at low, mid, and high latitudes. is small, approximately 5 K at the tropopause and approximately 3 K at the surface. This implies efficient heat transport, probably by axisymmetric meridional circulations. The effect of the methane "hydrological" cycle on the atmospheric circulation is not well constrained by existing measurements, Understanding the mature of the surface-atmosphere coupling will be critical to elucidating the atmospheric transports of momentum, heat, and volatiles.

Description: The Moon is our closest planetary neighbor and the only extraterrestrial body to which humans have traveled, yet many questions about its origin and early history remain unanswered. Four papers published in this issue by scientific teams of the Japanese SELENE (Kaguya) mission offer a new global view of the Moon that helps to elucidate how the Moon evolved to its present state. The Moon is lopsided: Its visible nearside (tidally locked to face the Earth) is covered with smooth, dark volcanic mare, whereas the farside mainly consists of more heavily cratered, bright highland material. The differences in crustal thickness and density, apparent surface age, composition, and volcanic activity between the two sides are variously ascribed to external causes (such as a giant impact) or to internal causes (such as core formation, mantle convection, and crustal differentiation). The key to resolving these questions will be better data.

Description: The combined use of altimetry, Earth-based Doppler and Earth-based range measurements in the lunar reconnaissance orbiter (LRO) mission (Chin et al. in Space Sci Rev 129:391-419, 2007) has been examined in a simulation study. It is found that in the initial phases of the mission orbit and altimeter geolocation accuracies should be better than 10m in the radial component and 60m overall. It is demonstrated that LRO's precise 1-way laser range measurement from Earth-based stations (Smith et al. in Proceedings of the 15th International Laser Ranging Workshop, Canberra, Australia, October 15-20, 2006) will be useful for gravity recovery. The advantages of multiple laser beams are demonstrated for altimeter calibration, orbit determination and gravity recovery in general planetary settings as well as for LRO.

Description: Two independent satellite retrievals of cloud liquid water path (LWP) from the NASA Aqua satellite are used to diagnose the impact of absorbing biomass burning aerosol overlaying boundary-layer marine water clouds on the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) retrievals of cloud optical thickness (tau) and cloud droplet effective radius (r(sub e)). In the MODIS retrieval over oceans, cloud reflectance in the 0.86-micrometer and 2.13-micrometer bands is used to simultaneously retrieve tau and r(sub e). A low bias in the MODIS tau retrieval may result from reductions in the 0.86-micrometer reflectance, which is only very weakly absorbed by clouds, owing to absorption by aerosols in cases where biomass burning aerosols occur above water clouds. MODIS LWP, derived from the product of the retrieved tau and r(sub e), is compared with LWP ocean retrievals from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS (AMSR-E), determined from cloud microwave emission that is transparent to aerosols. For the coastal Atlantic southern African region investigated in this study, a systematic difference between AMSR-E and MODIS LWP retrievals is found for stratocumulus clouds over three biomass burning months in 2005 and 2006 that is consistent with above-cloud absorbing aerosols. Biomass burning aerosol is detected using the ultraviolet aerosol index from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on the Aura satellite. The LWP difference (AMSR-E minus MODIS) increases both with increasing tau and increasing OMI aerosol index. During the biomass burning season the mean LWP difference is 14 g per square meters, which is within the 15-20 g per square meter range of estimated uncertainties in instantaneous LWP retrievals. For samples with only low amounts of overlaying smoke (OMI AI less than or equal to 1) the difference is 9.4, suggesting that the impact of smoke aerosols on the mean MODIS LWP is 5.6 g per square meter. Only for scenes with OMI aerosol index greater than 2 does the average LWP difference and the estimated bias in MODIS cloud optical thickness attributable to the impact of overlaying biomass burning aerosol exceed the instantaneous uncertainty in the retrievals.

Description: The amount of solar radiation reflected back to space or reaching the Earth's surface is primarily governed by the amount of cloud cover and, to a much lesser extent, by Rayleigh scatteri ng, aerosols, and various absorbing gases (e.g., O3, NO2, H2O). A useful measure of the effect of cloud plus aerosol cover is given by the amount that the 331 run Lambert Equivalent Reflectivity (LER) ofa scene exceeds the surfuce reflectivity for snow/ice-free scenes after Rayleigh scattering has been removed. Twenty-eight years of reflectivity data are available by overlapping data from several satellites: N7 (Nimbus 7, TOMS; 331 nm) from 1979 to 1992, SBUV-2 series (Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet, NOAA; 331 nm) 1985 to 2007, EP (Earth-Probe, TOMS; 331 nm) 1997 to 2006, SW (SeaWiFS; 412 nm) 1998 to 2006, and OMI (Ozone Measuring Instrument; 331 nm) 2004-2007. Only N7 and SW have a sufficiently long data record, Sun-synchronous orbits, and are adequately calibrated for long-term reflectivity trend estimation. Reflectivity data derived from these instruments and the SBUV-2 series are compared during the overlapping years. Key issues in determining long-term reflecti vity changes that have occurred during the N7 and SW operating periods are discussed. The largest reflectivity changes in the 412 nm SW LER and 331 nm EP LER are found to occur near the equator and are associated with a large EI Nino-Southern Oscillation event. Most other changes that have occurred are regional, such as the apparent cloud decrease over northern Europe since 1998. The fractional occurrence (fraction of days) of high reflectivity values over Hudson Bay, Canada (snow/ice and clouds) appears to have decreased when comparing reflectivity data from 1980 to 1992 to 1997-2006, suggesting shorter duration of ice in Hudson Bay since 1980.

Description: Tracking of the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft has been used to measure changes in the long-wavelength gravity field of Mars and to estimate the seasonal mass of carbon dioxide that is deposited in the polar regions each fall and winter and sublimed back into the atmosphere every spring and summer. Observations spanning 4 Mars years have been analyzed. A clear and well-defined seasonal signal, composed of annual and semiannual periods, is seen in the lowest odd degree 3 coefficient but with less confidence in the lowest even degree 2, which is expected to be smaller and is also much more difficult to observe. Direct estimation of the seasonal mass exchange employing a simple, seasonally varying model of the size and height of each cap provides values that indicate some systematic departures from the deposition predicted by a general circulation model. Estimates are also obtained for the precession and nutation of the pole of rotation of Mars, the degree 2 tidal Love number, k2, and the mass of Phobos, the larger of Mars' two natural satellites.

Description: This article presents the first half of the author's experience living and working at the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Greenland Summit Camp. The author is a remote-sensing glaciologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. She took measurements that will be used to validate data collected by NASA s Aqua, Terra, and Ice, Clouds, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) satellites with ground-truth measurements of the Greenland Ice Sheet she made at Summit Camp from November 2008-February 2009. This article presents excerpts from the second half of her stay and work at the Greenland Summit. The second half of the story is presented in another issue of this journal

Description: Mars may possess a global sub-surface groundwater table as an integral part of its current hydrological system, However, the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) onboard the 'Mars Express (MEx) spacecraft has yet to make a definitive detection of such a body of liquid water. In this work, we quantify. the conditions that would allow a detection of a deep aquifer and demonstrate that the lack of radar detection doses not uniquely role out the presence of such a body. Specifically, if the overlying crustal material has a conductivity above approximately 10(exp -5) S/m (equivalent to a loss tangent of 0.008), a radar echo frown an aquifer could be sufficiently attenuated by the intetvening medium to prevent its detection by MARSIS. As such, the lack of direct detection by MARSIS -- a "null result" does not rule out the possibility of the water table's existence.

Description: On 12 March 2008, the Cassini spacecraft made a close encounter with the Saturnian moon Enceladus, passing within 52 km of the moon. The spacecraft trajectory was intentionally-oriented in a southerly direction to create a close alignment with the intense water-dominated plumes emitted from the south polar region. During the passage, the Cassini Radio and Plasma Wave System (RPWS) detected two distinct radio signatures: 1) Impulses associated with small water-ice dust grain impacts and 2) an upper hybrid (UH) resonance emission that both intensified and displayed a sharp frequency decrease in the near-vicinity of the moon. The frequency decrease of the UH emission is associated with an unexpectedly sharp decrease in electron density from approximately 90 el/cubic cm to below 20 el/cubic cm that occurs on a time scale of a minute near the closest encounter with the moon. In this work, we consider a number of scenarios to explain this sharp electron dropout, but surmise that electron absorption by ice grains is the most likely process.

Description: We use infrared images obtained by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) instrument on-board Mars Odyssey to retrieve the optical depth of dust and water ice aerosols over more than 3.5 martian years between February 2002 (MY 25, Ls=330 ) and December 2008 (MY 29, Ls=183). These data provide an important bridge between earlier TES observations and recent observations from Mars Express and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. An improvement to our earlier retrieval to include atmospheric temperature information from THEMIS Band 10 observations leads to much improved retrievals during the largest dust storms. The new retrievals show moderate dust storm activity during Mars Years 26 and 27, although details of the strength and timing of dust storms is different from year to year. A planet-encircling dust storm event was observed during Mars Year 28 near Southern Hemisphere Summer solstice. A belt of low-latitude water ice clouds was observed during the aphelion season during each year, Mars Years 26 through 29. The optical depth of water ice clouds is somewhat higher in the THEMIS retrievals at approximately 5:00 PM local time than in the TES retrievals at approximately 2:00 PM, suggestive of possible local time variation of clouds.

Description: Two MODIS instruments are currently in orbit, making continuous global observations in visible to long-wave infrared wavelengths. Compared to heritage sensors, MODIS was built with an advanced set of on-board calibrators, providing sensor radiometric, spectral, and spatial calibration and characterization during on-orbit operation. For the thermal emissive bands (TEB) with wavelengths from 3.7 m to 14.4 m, a v-grooved blackbody (BB) is used as the primary calibration source. The BB temperature is accurately measured each scan (1.47s) using a set of 12 temperature sensors traceable to NIST temperature standards. The onboard BB is nominally operated at a fixed temperature, 290K for Terra MODIS and 285K for Aqua MODIS, to compute the TEB linear calibration coefficients. Periodically, its temperature is varied from 270K (instrument ambient) to 315K in order to evaluate and update the nonlinear calibration coefficients. This paper describes MODIS on-board BB functions with emphasis on on-orbit operation and performance. It examines the BB temperature uncertainties under different operational conditions and their impact on TEB calibration and data product quality. The temperature uniformity of the BB is also evaluated using TEB detector responses at different operating temperatures. On-orbit results demonstrate excellent short-term and long-term stability for both the Terra and Aqua MODIS on-board BB. The on-orbit BB temperature uncertainty is estimated to be 10mK for Terra MODIS at 290K and 5mK for Aqua MODIS at 285K, thus meeting the TEB design specifications. In addition, there has been no measurable BB temperature drift over the entire mission of both Terra and Aqua MODIS.

Description: A validation of the 2005 500m MODIS vegetation continuous fields (VCF) tree cover product in the circumpolar taiga-tundra ecotone was performed using high resolution Quickbird imagery. Assessing the VCF's performance near the northern limits of the boreal forest can help quantify the accuracy of the product within this vegetation transition area. The circumpolar region was divided into longitudinal zones and validation sites were selected in areas of varying tree cover where Quickbird imagery is available in Google Earth. Each site was linked to the corresponding VCF pixel and overlaid with a regular dot grid within the VCF pixel's boundary to estimate percent tree crown cover in the area. Percent tree crown cover was estimated using Quickbird imagery for 396 sites throughout the circumpolar region and related to the VCF's estimates of canopy cover for 2000-2005. Regression results of VCF inter-annual comparisons (2000-2005) and VCF-Quickbird image-interpreted estimates indicate that: (1) Pixel-level, inter-annual comparisons of VCF estimates of percent canopy cover were linearly related (mean R(sup 2) = 0.77) and exhibited an average root mean square error (RMSE) of 10.1 % and an average root mean square difference (RMSD) of 7.3%. (2) A comparison of image-interpreted percent tree crown cover estimates based on dot counts on Quickbird color images by two different interpreters were more variable (R(sup 2) = 0.73, RMSE = 14.8%, RMSD = 18.7%) than VCF inter-annual comparisons. (3) Across the circumpolar boreal region, 2005 VCF-Quickbird comparisons were linearly related, with an R(sup 2) = 0.57, a RMSE = 13.4% and a RMSD = 21.3%, with a tendency to over-estimate areas of low percent tree cover and anomalous VCF results in Scandinavia. The relationship of the VCF estimates and ground reference indicate to potential users that the VCF's tree cover values for individual pixels, particularly those below 20% tree cover, may not be precise enough to monitor 500m pixel-level tree cover in the taiga-tundra transition zone.

Description: Aqua MODIS has successfully operated on-orbit for more than 6 years since its launch in May 2002, continuously making global observations and improving studies of changes in the Earth's climate and environment. 20 of the 36 MODIS spectral bands, covering wavelengths from 0.41 to 2.2 microns, are the reflective solar bands (RSB). They are calibrated on-orbit using an on-board solar diffuser (SD) and a solar diffuser stability monitor (SDSM). In addition, regularly scheduled lunar observations are made to track the RSB calibration stability. This paper presents Aqua MODIS RSB on-orbit calibration and characterization activities, methodologies, and performance. Included in this study are characterizations of detector signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), short-term stability, and long-term response change. Spectral wavelength dependent degradation of the SD bidirectional reflectance factor (BRF) and scan mirror reflectance, which also varies with angle of incidence (AOI), are examined. On-orbit results show that Aqua MODIS onboard calibrators have performed well, enabling accurate calibration coefficients to be derived and updated for the Level 1B (L1B) production and assuring high quality science data products to be continuously generated and distributed. Since launch, the short-term response, on a scan-by-scan basis, has remained extremely stable for most RSB detectors. With the exception of band 6, there have been no new RSB noisy or inoperable detectors. Like its predecessor, Terra MODIS, launched in December 1999, the Aqua MODIS visible (VIS) spectral bands have experienced relatively large changes, with an annual response decrease (mirror side 1) of 3.6% for band 8 at 0.412 microns, 2.3% for band 9 at 0.443 microns, 1.6% for band 3 at 0.469 microns, and 1.2% for band 10 at 0.488 microns. For other RSB bands with wavelengths greater than 0.5 microns, the annual response changes are typically less than 0.5%. In general, Aqua MODIS optics degradation is smaller than Terra MODIS and the mirror side differences are much smaller. Overall, Aqua MODIS RSB on-orbit performance is better than Terra MODIS.

Description: Tectonic patterns on Europa are influenced by tidal stress. An important well-organized component is associated with the orbital eccentricity, which produces a diurnally varying stress as Jupiter's apparent position in Europa's sky oscillates in longitude. Cycloidal lineaments seem to have formed as cracks propagated in this diurnally varying stress field. Maps of theoretical cycloid patterns capture many of the characteristics of the observed distribution on Europa. However, a few details of the observed cycloids distribution have not reproduced by previous models. Recently, it has been shown that Europa has a finite forced obliquity, so Jupiter's apparent positon in Europa's sky will also oscillate in latitude. We explore this new type of diurnal effect on cycloid formation. We find that stress from obliquity may be the key to explaining several characteristics of observed cycloids such as the shape of equator-crossing cycloids and the shift in the crack patterns in the Argadnel Regio region. All of those improvements of the fit between observaiton and theory seem to require Jupiter crossing Europa's equatorial plane 45 deg. to 180 deg after perijove passage. Suggestive of complex orbital dynamics that lock the direction of Europe's pericenter with the direction of the ascending node at the time these cracks were formed.

Description: No abstract available

Description: Landsat satellites have acquired single-band thermal images since 1978. The next satellile in the heritage, Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), is scheduled to launch in December 2012. LDCM will contain the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS), where TIRS operates in concert with, but independently of OLI. This paper will provide an overview of the remote sensing instrument TIRS. The T1RS instrument was designed at National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) where it will be fabricated and calibrated as well. Protecting the integrity of the Scientific Data that will be collected from TIRS played a strong role in definition of the calibration test equipment and procedures used for the optical, radiometric, and spatial calibration. The data that will be produced from LCDM will continue to be used world wide for environment monitoring and resource management.

Description: A joint U.S. Air Force/NASA blended, global snow product that utilizes Earth Observation System (EOS) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) and QuikSCAT (Quick Scatterometer) (QSCAT) data has been developed. Existing snow products derived from these sensors have been blended into a single, global, daily, user-friendly product by employing a newly-developed Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA)/National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Snow Algorithm (ANSA). This initial blended-snow product uses minimal modeling to expeditiously yield improved snow products, which include snow cover extent, fractional snow cover, snow water equivalent (SWE), onset of snowmelt, and identification of actively melting snow cover. The blended snow products are currently 25-km resolution. These products are validated with data from the lower Great Lakes region of the U.S., from Colorado during the Cold Lands Processes Experiment (CLPX), and from Finland. The AMSR-E product is especially useful in detecting snow through clouds; however, passive microwave data miss snow in those regions where the snow cover is thin, along the margins of the continental snowline, and on the lee side of the Rocky Mountains, for instance. In these regions, the MODIS product can map shallow snow cover under cloud-free conditions. The confidence for mapping snow cover extent is greater with the MODIS product than with the microwave product when cloud-free MODIS observations are available. Therefore, the MODIS product is used as the default for detecting snow cover. The passive microwave product is used as the default only in those areas where MODIS data are not applicable due to the presence of clouds and darkness. The AMSR-E snow product is used in association with the difference between ascending and descending satellite passes or Diurnal Amplitude Variations (DAV) to detect the onset of melt, and a QSCAT product will be used to map areas of snow that are actively melting.

Description: This slide presentation gives an overview of NASA's operations monitoring the earth from space. It includes information on NASA's administrative divisions and key operating earth science missions with specific information on the Landsat satellites, Seastar spacecraft, and the TRMM satellite.

Description: The Arctic is home to many indigenous peoples, including those who depend on reindeer herding for their livelihood, in one of the harshest environments in the world. For the largely nomadic peoples, reindeer not only form a substantial part of the Arctic food base and economy, but they are also culturally important, shaping their way of life, mythologies, festivals and ceremonies. Reindeer pastoralism or husbandry has been practiced by numerous peoples all across Eurasia for thousands of years and involves moving herds of reindeer, which are very docile animals, from pasture to pasture depending on the season. Thus, herders must adapt on a daily basis to find optimal conditions for their herds according to the constantly changing conditions. Climate change and variability plus rapid development are increasingly creating major changes in the physical environment, ecology, and cultures of these indigenous reindeer herder communities in the North, and climate changes are occurring significantly faster in the Arctic than the rest of the globe, with correspondingly dramatic impacts (Oskal, 2008). In response to these changes, Eurasian reindeer herders have created the EALAT project, a comprehensive new initiative to study these impacts and to develop local adaptation strategies based upon their traditional knowledge of the land and its uses - in targeted partnership with the science and remote sensing community - involving extensive collaborations and coproduction of knowledge to minimize the impacts of the various changes. This chapter provides background on climate and development challenges to reindeer husbandry across the Arctic and an overview of the EALAT initiative, with an emphasis on indigenous knowledge, remote sensing, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and other scientific data to 'co-produce' datasets for use by herders for improved decision-making and herd management. It also provides a description of the EALAT monitoring data integration and sharing system and portal being developed for reindeer pastoralism. In addition, the chapter provides some preliminary results from the EALAT Project, including some early remote sensing research results.

Description: Imaging spectroscopy, also known as hyperspectral imaging, has been transformed in less than 30 years from being a sparse research tool into a commodity product available to a broad user community. Currently, there is a need for standardized data processing techniques able to take into account the special properties of hyperspectral data. In this paper, we provide a seminal view on recent advances in techniques for hyperspectral image processing. Our main focus is on the design of techniques able to deal with the highdimensional nature of the data, and to integrate the spatial and spectral information. Performance of the discussed techniques is evaluated in different analysis scenarios. To satisfy time-critical constraints in specific applications, we also develop efficient parallel implementations of some of the discussed algorithms. Combined, these parts provide an excellent snapshot of the state-of-the-art in those areas, and offer a thoughtful perspective on future potentials and emerging challenges in the design of robust hyperspectral imaging algorithms

Description: Spatiotemporal data from satellite remote sensing and surface meteorology networks have made it possible to continuously monitor global plant production, and to identify global trends associated with land cover/use and climate change. Gross primary production (GPP) and net primary production (NPP) are routinely derived from the MOderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard satellites Terra and Aqua, and estimates generally agree with independent measurements at validation sites across the globe. However, the accuracy of GPP and NPP estimates in some regions may be limited by the quality of model input variables and heterogeneity at fine spatial scales. We developed new methods for deriving model inputs (i.e., land cover, leaf area, and photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by plant canopies) from airborne laser altimetry (LiDAR) and Quickbird multispectral data at resolutions ranging from about 30 m to 1 km. In addition, LiDAR-derived biomass was used as a means for computing carbon-use efficiency. Spatial variables were used with temporal data from ground-based monitoring stations to compute a six-year GPP and NPP time series for a 3600 ha study site in the Great Lakes region of North America. Model results compared favorably with independent observations from a 400 m flux tower and a process-based ecosystem model (BIOME-BGC), but only after removing vapor pressure deficit as a constraint on photosynthesis from the MODIS global algorithm. Fine resolution inputs captured more of the spatial variability, but estimates were similar to coarse-resolution data when integrated across the entire vegetation structure, composition, and conversion efficiencies were similar to upland plant communities. Plant productivity estimates were noticeably improved using LiDAR-derived variables, while uncertainties associated with land cover generalizations and wetlands in this largely forested landscape were considered less important.

Description: Several recent studies have found that the brightness of clear sky systematically increases near clouds. Understanding this increase is important both for a correct interpretation of observations and for improving our knowledge of aerosol-cloud interactions. However, while the studies suggested several processes to explain the increase, the significance of each process is yet to be determined. This study examines one of the suggested processes three-dimensional (3-D) radiative interactions between clouds and their surroundings by analyzing a large dataset of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) observations over the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. The results indicate that 3-D effects are responsible for a large portion of the observed increase, which extends to about 15 km away from clouds and is stronger (i) at shorter wavelengths (ii) near optically thicker clouds and (iii) near illuminated cloud sides. This implies that it is important to account for 3-D radiative effects in the interpretation of solar reflectance measurements over clear regions in the vicinity of clouds.

Description: This paper provides a summary of the current equations and rescaling factors for converting calibrated Digital Numbers (DNs) to absolute units of at-sensor spectral radiance, Top-Of- Atmosphere (TOA) reflectance, and at-sensor brightness temperature. It tabulates the necessary constants for the Multispectral Scanner (MSS), Thematic Mapper (TM), Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), and Advanced Land Imager (ALI) sensors. These conversions provide a basis for standardized comparison of data in a single scene or between images acquired on different dates or by different sensors. This paper forms a needed guide for Landsat data users who now have access to the entire Landsat archive at no cost.

Description: The aerosol spectral absorption efficiency (alpha (sub a) in square meters per gram) is measured over an extended wavelength range (350 2500 nm) using an improved calibrated and validated reflectance technique and applied to urban aerosol samples from Sao Paulo, Brazil and from a site in Virginia, Eastern US, that experiences transported urban/industrial aerosol. The average alpha (sub a) values (approximately 3 square meters per gram at 550 nm) for Sao Paulo samples are 10 times larger than alpha (sub a) values obtained for aerosols in Virginia. Sao Paulo aerosols also show evidence of enhanced UV absorption in selected samples, probably associated with organic aerosol components. This extra UV absorption can double the absorption efficiency observed from black carbon alone, therefore reducing by up to 50% the surface UV fluxes, with important implications for climate, UV photolysis rates, and remote sensing from space.

Description: In this paper, Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) aerosol product attributes are described, including geometry and algorithm performance flags. Actual retrieval coverage is mapped and explained in detail using representative global monthly data. Statistical comparisons are made with coincident aerosol optical depth (AOD) and Angstrom exponent (ANG) retrieval results from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument. The relationship between these results and the ones previously obtained for MISR and MODIS individually, based on comparisons with coincident ground-truth observations, is established. For the data examined, MISR and MODIS each obtain successful aerosol retrievals about 15% of the time, and coincident MISR-MODIS aerosol retrievals are obtained for about 6%-7% of the total overlap region. Cloud avoidance, glint and oblique-Sun exclusions, and other algorithm physical limitations account for these results. For both MISR and MODIS, successful retrievals are obtained for over 75% of locations where attempts are made. Where coincident AOD retrievals are obtained over ocean, the MISR-MODIS correlation coefficient is about 0.9; over land, the correlation coefficient is about 0.7. Differences are traced to specific known algorithm issues or conditions. Over-ocean ANG comparisons yield a correlation of 0.67, showing consistency in distinguishing aerosol air masses dominated by coarse-mode versus fine-mode particles. Sampling considerations imply that care must be taken when assessing monthly global aerosol direct radiative forcing and AOD trends with these products, but they can be used directly for many other applications, such as regional AOD gradient and aerosol air mass type mapping and aerosol transport model validation. Users are urged to take seriously the published product data-quality statements.

Description: The outermost layers of the Martian atmosphere are thought to be scientifically unique due to the large influences exerted by the highly dynamic lower atmosphere and the direct input of the solar wind from above. The nature of the solar wind interaction with the upper atmosphere is of particular interest because Mars lacks a global magnetic field, but is well shielded over some regions by strong crustal magnetic fields. Under such circumstances, the direct impact of solar wind plasma may have resulted in enhanced loss of volatiles over the ages including the components of water. The history of upper atmosphere and solar wind interaction measurements at Mars will be reviewed, recent results from the Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Express summarized, and prospects for new scientific advances enabled by the measurements that will be made by planned orbiter and penetrator missions. Special attention will be given to planetary magnetic field measurements, the measurement of ionospheric currents driven by the solar wind, and the role of space weather modeling and forecasting in the future of Mars exploration.

Description: GRACE is unique among remote sensing systems in its ability to "see" below the first few centimeters of the land surface, and it has provided the first global observations of total terrestrial water storage variations. Now that we have more than seven years of GRACE measurements, it is tempting to look for trends in the data. Auxiliary information is almost always required in order to arrive at the correct diagnosis of an apparent trend. Here we will present a map of GRACE derived terrestrial water storage tendencies since 2002 and attempt to explain which are likely to continue due to climatic or human pressures, and which are short-term expressions of natural interannual variability.

Description: Presolar grains were identified in meteorite residues 20 years ago based on their exotic isotopic compositions. Their study has provide new insights into stellar evolution and the first view of the original building blocks of the solar system. Organic matter in meteorites and IDPs is highly enriched in D/H and N-15/N-14 at micrometer scales, possibly due to presolar organic grains. These anomalies are ascribed to the partial preservation of presolar cold molecular cloud material. Identifying the carriers of these anomalies and elucidating their physical and chemical properties may give new views of interstellar chemistry and better understanding of the original components of the protosolar disk. However, identifying the carriers has been hampered by their small size and the inability to chemically isolate them. Thanks to immediate careful collection of Tagish Lake meteorite specimen, as well as major advances in nano-scale analytical techniques and advanced sample preparation, we were able to show that in the Tagish Lake meteorite, the principle carriers of these isotopic anomalies are sub-micrometer, hollow organic globules. The organic globules likely formed by photochemical processing of organic ices in a cold molecular cloud or the outermost regions of the protosolar disk. Organic globules with similar physical, chemical, and isotopic properties are also recently found from Bells CM2 carbonaceous chondrite, in IDPs and in the comet Wild-2 samples returned by Stardust. These results support the view that microscopic organic grains were widespread constituents of the protoplanetary disk. Their exotic isotopic compositions trace their origins to the outermost portions of the protosolar disk or a presolar cold molecular cloud.

Description: This paper/poster presents a real-life example of the benefits of flying small satellites with other satellites, large or small, and vice versa. Typically, most small satellites fly payloads consisting of one or two instruments and fly in orbits that are independent from that of other satellites. The science data from these satellites are either used in isolation or correlated with instrument data from other satellites. Data correlation with other satellites is greatly improved when the measurements of the same point or air mass are taken at approximately the same time. Scientists worldwide are beginning to take advantage of the opportunities for improved data correlation, or coincidental science, offered by the international Earth Observing Constellation known as the A-Train (sometimes referred to as the Afternoon Constellation). Most of the A-Train satellites are small - the A-Train is anchored by two large NASA satellites (EOS-Aqua and EOS-Aura), but consists also of 5 small satellites (CloudSat, CALIPSO, PARASOL, OCO and Glory these last two will join in 2009). By flying in a constellation, each mission benefits from coincidental observations from instruments on the other satellites in the constellation. Essentially, from a data point of view, the A-Train can be envisioned as a single, virtual science platform with multiple instruments. Satellites in the A-Train fly at 705 km in sun-synchronous orbits. Their mean local times at the equator are within seconds to a few minutes of each other. This paper describes the challenges of operating an international constellation of independent satellites from the U.S. and Europe to maximize the coincidental science opportunities while at the same time minimizing the level of operational interactions required between team members. The A-Train mission teams have been able to demonstrate that flying as members of an international constellation does not take away the flexibility to accommodate new requirements. Specific examples will be cited, including CloudSat's relocation (to accommodate a new viewing angle for the CALIPSO satellite), Glory's replan to move closer to PARASOL, and OCO's long term plans to minimize on-orbit operations costs while maintaining safety. In all cases, safety is ensured, science returns are enhanced, and operational flexibility is retained to the maximum extent possible.

Description: As envisaged by the 2000 astrophysics decadal survey panel: The main goal of Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) is nothing less than to search for evidence of life on terrestrial planets around nearby stars . Here, we consider how an optical telescope paired with a free-flying occulter blocking light from the star can reach this goal directly, without knowledge of results from prior astrometric, doppler, or transit exoplanet observations. Using design reference missions and other simulations, we explore the potential of TPF-O to find planets in the habitable zone around their central stars, to spectrally characterize the atmospheres of detected planets, and to obtain rudimentary information about their orbits. We emphasize the importance of ozone absorption in the UV spectrum of a planet as a marker of photosynthesis by plants, algae, and cyanobacteria.

Description: NASA's Fermi Observatory was launched June 11, 2009; the Fermi Gamma Ray Burst Monitor (GBM) began normal operations on July 14, about a month after launch, when the trigger algorithms were enabled. In the first year of operations we recorded emission from four magnetar sources; of these, only one was an old magnetar: SGR 1806+20. The other three detections were: SGR J0501+4516, newly discovered with Swift and extensively monitored with both Swift and GBM, SGR J1550-5418, a source originally classified as an Anomalous X-ray Pulsar (AXP) and a very recently discovered new source, SGR 0418+5729. I report below on the current status of the analyses efforts of the GBM data.

Description: The Lunar Surface System Habitat Demonstration Unit (HDU) will require the project team to integrate a variety of contributions from NASA centers and potential outside collaborators and poses a challenge in integrating these disparate efforts into a cohesive architecture. To accomplish the development of the HDU from conception in June 2009 to rollout for operations in July 2010, the HDU team is using several strategies to mitigate risks and bring the separate efforts together. First, a set of design standards is being developed to define the interfaces between the various systems of HDU and to the payloads, such as the Geology Lab, that those systems will support. Scheduled activities such as early fit-checks and the utilization of a Habitat avionics test bed prior to equipment installation into HDU. A coordinated effort to establish simplified Computer Aided Design standards and the utilization of a modeling and simulation systems will aid in design and integration concept development. Finally, decision processes on the shell development including the assembly sequence and the transportation have been fleshed out early on HDU to maximize the efficiency of both integration and field operations.

Description: Characterizing soil moisture (theta) variability is important for inferring high-resolution information from coarse estimates provided by remote sensors. In this study, we analyze the spatial variability and scale invariance of high-resolution theta estimates collected in two contrasting semiarid areas, Arizona (AZ) and Sonora (SON), during the Soil Moisture Experiment - North American Monsoon in 2004 (SMEX04- NAME). Results reveal that as the mean theta condition (〈theta〉) becomes drier, the spatial standard deviation becomes smaller in both domains. The coefficient of variation of theta decreases with 〈theta〉 in SON, but does not display a clear tendency with 〈theta〉 in AZ. We also found the presence of scale invariance and multifractality in the range of support scales from 51.2 km to 0.8 km for all soil moisture fields in the two regions. The multifractal properties of theta are clearly linked to 〈theta〉 in SON, while the relation is affected by more dispersion in AZ. We argue this is due to differences in the dynamic (rainfall) and static (vegetation) controls on theta in the two domains.

Description: One of the goals of In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) on the moon is to produce oxygen from the lunar regolith which is present in the form of Ilmenite (FeTi03) and other compounds. A reliable and attainable method of extracting some of the oxygen from the lunar regolith is to use the hydrogen reduction process in a hot reactor to create water vapor which is then condensed and electrolyzed to obtain oxygen for use as a consumable. One challenge for a production system is to reliably acquire the regolith with an excavator hauler mobility platform and then introduce it into the reactor inlet tube which is raised from the surface and above the reactor itself. After the reaction, the hot regolith (-1000 C) must be expelled from the reactor for disposal by the excavator hauler mobility system. In addition, the reactor regolith inlet and outlet tubes must be sealed by valves during the reaction in order to allow collection of the water vapor by the chemical processing sub-system. These valves must be able to handle abrasive regolith passing through them as well as the heat conduction from the hot reactor. In 2008, NASA has designed and field tested a hydrogen reduction system called ROxygen in order to demonstrate the feasibility of extracting oxygen from lunar regolith. The field test was performed with volcanic ash known as Tephra on Mauna Kea volcano on the Big Island of Hawai'i. The tephra has similar properties to lunar regolith, so that it is regarded as a good simulant for the hydrogen reduction process. This paper will discuss the design, fabrication, operation, test results and lessons learned with the ROxygen regolith feed system as tested on Mauna Kea in November 2008.

Description: Component and system sensitivities of some design parameters of ISRU system components are analyzed. The differences between terrestrial and lunar excavation are discussed, and a qualitative comparison of large and small excavators is started. The effect of excavator size on the size of the ISRU plant's regolith hoppers is presented. Optimum operating conditions of both hydrogen and carbothermal reduction reactors are explored using recently developed analytical models. Design parameters such as batch size, conversion fraction, and maximum particle size are considered for a hydrogen reduction reactor while batch size, conversion fraction, number of melt zones, and methane flow rate are considered for a carbothermal reduction reactor. For both reactor types the effect of reactor operation on system energy and regolith delivery requirements is presented.

Description: Surface mining and reclamation is the dominant driver of land cover land use change (LCLUC) in the Central Appalachian Mountain region of the Eastern U.S. Accurate quantification of the extent of mining activities is important for assessing how this LCLUC affects ecosystem services such as aesthetics, biodiversity, and mitigation of flooding.We used Landsat imagery from 1976, 1987, 1999 and 2006 to map the extent of surface mines and mine reclamation for eight large watersheds in the Central Appalachian region of West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. We employed standard image processing techniques in conjunction with a temporal decision tree and GIS maps of mine permits and wetlands to map active and reclaimed mines and track changes through time. For the entire study area, active surface mine extent was highest in 1976, prior to implementation of the Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act in 1977, with 1.76% of the study area in active mines, declining to 0.44% in 2006. The most extensively mined watershed, Georges Creek in Maryland, was 5.45% active mines in 1976, declining to 1.83% in 2006. For the entire study area, the area of reclaimed mines increased from 1.35% to 4.99% from 1976 to 2006, and from 4.71% to 15.42% in Georges Creek. Land cover conversion to mines and then reclaimed mines after 1976 was almost exclusively from forest. Accuracy levels for mined and reclaimed cover was above 85% for all time periods, and was generally above 80% for mapping active and reclaimed mines separately, especially for the later time periods in which good accuracy assessment data were available. Among other implications, the mapped patterns of LCLUC are likely to significantly affect watershed hydrology, as mined and reclaimed areas have lower infiltration capacity and thus more rapid runoff than unmined forest watersheds, leading to greater potential for extreme flooding during heavy rainfall events.

Description: For almost 10 years, standard global products from NASA's Earth Observing System s (EOS) two Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors are being used world-wide for earth science research and applications. This paper discusses the lessons learned in developing the science algorithms and the data systems needed to produce these high quality data products for the earth sciences community. Strong science team leadership and communication, an evolvable and scalable data system, and central coordination of QA and validation activities enabled the data system to grow by two orders of magnitude from the initial at-launch system to the current system able to reprocess data from both the Terra and Aqua missions in less than a year. Many of the lessons learned from MODIS are already being applied to follow-on missions.

Description: One of the primary objectives of NASA's Vision for Space Exploration is the creation of a permanently manned lunar outpost. Facing the challenge of establishing a human presence on the moon will require new innovations and technologies that will be critical to expanding this exploration to Mars and beyond. However, accomplishing this task presents an unprecedented set of obstacles, one of the more significant of which is the development of new strategies for ground test and verification. Present concepts for the Lunar Surface System (LSS) architecture call for the construction of a series of independent yet tightly coupled modules and elements to be launched and assembled in incremental stages. Many of these will be fabricated at distributed locations and delivered shortly before launch, precluding any opportunity for testing in an actual integrated configuration. Furthermore, these components must operate flawlessly once delivered to the lunar surface since there is no possibility for returning a malfunctioning module to Earth for repair or modification. Although undergoing continual refinement, this paper will present the current state of the plans and models that have been devised for meeting the challenge of ground based testing for Constellation Program LSS as well as the rationale behind their selection.

Description: A lightweight bulldozer blade prototype has been designed and built to be used as an excavation implement in conjunction with the NASA Chariot lunar mobility platform prototype. The combined system was then used in a variety of field tests in order to characterize structural loads, excavation performance and learn about the operational behavior of lunar excavation in geotechnical lunar simulants. The purpose of this effort was to evaluate the feasibility of lunar excavation for site preparation at a planned NASA lunar outpost. Once the feasibility has been determined then the technology will become available as a candidate element in the NASA Lunar Surface Systems Architecture. In addition to NASA experimental testing of the LANCE blade, NASA engineers completed analytical work on the expected draft forces using classical soil mechanics methods. The Colorado School of Mines (CSM) team utilized finite element analysis (FEA) to study the interaction between the cutting edge of the LANCE blade and the surface of soil. FEA was also used to examine various load cases and their effect on the lightweight structure of the LANCE blade. Overall it has been determined that a lunar bulldozer blade is a viable technology for lunar outpost site preparation, but further work is required to characterize the behavior in 1/6th G and actual lunar regolith in a vacuum lunar environment.

Description: Particle removal during lunar exploration activities is of prime importance for the success of robotic and human exploration of the moon. We report on our efforts to use electrostatic and dielectrophoretic forces to develop a dust removal technology that prevents the accumulation of dust on solar panels and removes dust adhering to those surfaces. Testing of several prototypes showed solar shield output above 90% of the initial potentials after dust clearing.

Description: Lunar Water Resource Demonstration (LWRD) is part of RESOLVE (Regolith and Environment Science & Oxygen and Lunar Volatile Extraction). RESOLVE is an ISRU ground demonstration: (1) A rover to explore a permanently shadowed crater at the south or north pole of the Moon (2) Drill core samples down to 1 meter (3) Heat the core samples to 150C (4) Analyze gases and capture water and/or hydrogen evolved (5) Use hydrogen reduction to extract oxygen from regolith

Description: No abstract available

Description: The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is the next step in NASA's Mars Exploration Program, currently scheduled for 2011. The spacecraft's descent into the Martian atmosphere will be slowed from Mach 2 to subsonic speeds via a large parachute system with final landing under propulsive control. A Disk-Band-Gap (DBG) parachute will be used on MSL similar to the designs that have been used on previous missions, however; the DBG parachute used by MSL will be larger (21.5 m) than in any of the previous missions due to the weight of the payload and landing site requirements. The MSL parachute will also deploy at higher Mach number (M 2) than previous parachutes, which can lead to instabilities in canopy performance. Both the increased size of the DBG above previous demonstrated configurations and deployment at higher Mach numbers add uncertainty to the deployment, structural integrity and performance of the parachute. In order to verify the performance of the DBG on MSL, experimental testing, including acquisition of Stereo Particle Imaging Velocimetry (PIV) measurements were required for validating CFD predictions of the parachute performance. A rigid model of the DBG parachute was tested in the 10x10 foot wind tunnel at GRC. Prior to the MSL tests, a PIV system had never been used in the 10x10 wind tunnel. In this paper we discuss some of the technical challenges overcome in implementing a Stereo PIV system with a 750x400 mm field-of-view in the 10x10 wind tunnel facility and results from the MSL hardshell canopy tests.

Description: A simulation model based on satellite observations of monthly vegetation greenness from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) was used to estimate monthly carbon fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems of Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado regions over the period 2000-2002. The NASA-CASA (Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach) model estimates of annual forest production were used for the first time as the basis to generate a prediction for the standing pool of carbon in above-ground biomass (AGB; gC/sq m) for forested areas of the Brazilian Amazon region. Plot-level measurements of the residence time of carbon in wood in Amazon forest from Malhi et al. (2006) were interpolated by inverse distance weighting algorithms and used with CASA to generate a new regional map of AGB. Data from the Brazilian PRODES (Estimativa do Desflorestamento da Amazonia) project were used to map deforested areas. Results show that net primary production (NPP) sinks for carbon varied between 4.25 Pg C/yr (1 Pg=10(exp 15)g) and 4.34 Pg C for the region and were highest across the eastern and northern Amazon areas, whereas deforestation sources of CO2 flux from decomposition of residual woody debris were higher and less seasonal in the central Amazon than in the eastern and southern areas. Increased woody debris from past deforestation events was predicted to alter the net ecosystem carbon balance of the Amazon region to generate annual CO2 source fluxes at least two times higher than previously predicted by CASA modeling studies. Variations in climate, land cover, and forest burning were predicted to release carbon at rates of 0.5 to 1 Pg C/yr from the Brazilian Amazon. When direct deforestation emissions of CO2 from forest burning of between 0.2 and 0.6 Pg C/yr in the Legal Amazon are overlooked in regional budgets, the year-to-year variations in this net biome flux may appear to be large, whereas our model results implies net biome fluxes had actually been relatively consistent from year to year during the period 2000-2002. This is the first study to use MODIS data to model all carbon pools (wood, leaf, root) dynamically in simulations of Amazon forest deforestation from clearing and burning of all kinds.

Description: Observations of the equatorial lunar sodium emission are examined to quantify the effect of precipitating ions on source rates for the Moon's exospheric volatile species. Using a model of exospheric sodium transport under lunar gravity forces, the measured emission intensity is normalized to a constant lunar phase angle to minimize the effect of different viewing geometries. Daily averages of the solar Lyman alpha flux and ion flux are used as the input variables for photon-stimulated desorption (PSD) and ion sputtering, respectively, while impact vaporization due to the micrometeoritic influx is assumed constant. Additionally, a proxy term proportional to both the Lyman alpha and to the ion flux is introduced to assess the importance of ion-enhanced diffusion and/or chemical sputtering. The combination of particle transport and constrained regression models demonstrates that, assuming sputtering yields that are typical of protons incident on lunar soils, the primary effect of ion impact on the surface of the Moon is not direct sputtering but rather an enhancement of the PSD efficiency. It is inferred that the ion-induced effects must double the PSD efficiency for flux typical of the solar wind at 1 AU. The enhancement in relative efficiency of PSD due to the bombardment of the lunar surface by the plasma sheet ions during passages through the Earth's magnetotail is shown to be approximately two times higher than when it is due to solar wind ions. This leads to the conclusion that the priming of the surface is more efficiently carried out by the energetic plasma sheet ions.

Description: No abstract available

Description: The Surface Systems team is working to learn about lunar regolith and how we can use it as a source of air, water, and fuel for spacecrafts. However, excavation of this valuable regolith is difficult because the robot has to conform to many specifications (mass limit, efficiency level, etc.). NASA has therefore decided to include college students and companies in the search to create the best robot by making it into a competition.

Description: The Lunar Regolith Excavation Competition is a new competition that needs graphics, logos, rules, as well as an arena. Although this is the first year of the competition, the competition is modeled after an existing competition, the Centennial Lunar Excavator Challenge. This competition however is aimed at college students. This makes the challenge identifying key aspects of the original competition and modeling them to fit into an easier task, and creating exciting advertisement that helps encourage participation. By using a youth focus group, young insight, as well as guiding advice from experts in the field, hopefully an arena can be designed and built, rules can be molded and created to fit, and alluring graphics can be printed to bring about a successful first year of the Lunar Regolith Excavation Competition.

Description: In 2004, President George W. Bush proposed a new set of goals for NASA which have since been formalized by Congress as the revised United States Space Policy. A major goal is to return humans to the moon by 2020. This prompted a world-wide discussion about what our goals in space ought to be. In 2006 NASA surveyed potential stakeholders asking the question, "Why the Moon?" Responses were received from over 1000 entities including business, industry, academia, and 13 other space agencies. This presentation reports the responses to that questionnaire, as well as current plans for how the return to the moon will be accomplished.

Description: During MESSENGER's second Mercury flyby, the Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer observed emission from Mercury's neutral exosphere. These observations include the first detection of emission from magnesium. Differing spatial distributions for sodium, calcium, and magnesium were revealed by observations beginning in Mercury's tail region, approximately 8 Mercury radii anti-sunward of the planet, continuing past the nightside, and ending near the dawn terminator. Analysis of these observations, supplemented by observations during the first Mercury flyby as well as those by other MESSENGER instruments, suggests that the distinct spatial distributions arise from a combination of differences in source, transfer, and loss processes.

Description: Presentation on hypothetical "Icebreaker" proposed robotic mission, a follow-on to the 2007Phoenix Mars polar lander which replaces the sco op with a lightweight drill.

Description: The viability of photovoltaics on the Lunar and Martian surfaces may be determined by their ability to withstand significant degradation in the Lunar and Martian environments. One of the greatest threats is posed by fine dust particles which are continually blown about the surfaces. In an effort to determine the extent of the threat, and to investigate some abatement strategies, a series of experiments were conducted outdoors and in the Moon and Mars environmental chamber at the Florida Solar Energy Center. Electrodynamic dust shield prototypes based on the electric curtain concept have been developed by our collaborators at the Kennedy Space Center [1]. These thin film layers can remove dust from surfaces and prevent dust accumulation. Several types of dust shields were designed, built and tested under high vacuum conditions and simulated lunar gravity to validate the technology for lunar exploration applications. Gallium arsenide, single crystal and polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic integrated devices were designed, built and tested under Moon and Mars environmental conditions as well as under ambient conditions. Photovoltaic efficiency measurements were performed on each individual cell with the following configurations; without an encapsulation layer, with a glass covering, and with various thin film dust shields. It was found that the PV efficiency of the hybrid systems was unaffected by these various thin film dust shields, proving that the optical transmission of light through the device is virtually uninhibited by these layers. The future goal of this project is to incorporate a photovoltaic cell as the power source for the electrodynamic dust shield system, and experimentally show the effective removal of dust obstructing any light incident on the cell, thus insuring power production is maximized over time.

Description: NASA has undertaken the In-Situ Resource Utilization (lSRU) project called RESOLVE (Regolith and Environment Science & Oxygen and Lunar Volatile Extraction). This project is an Earth-based lunar precursor demonstration of a system that could be sent to explore permanently shadowed polar lunar craters, where it would drill into regolith, quantify the volatiles that are present, and extract oxygen by hydrogen reduction of iron oxides. The RESOLVE chemical processing system was mounted within the CMU rover "Scarab" and successfully demonstrated on Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano in November 2008. This technology could be used on Mars as well. As described at the 2008 Mars Society Convention, the Lunar Water Resource Demonstration (LWRD) supports the objectives of the RESOLVE project by capturing and quantifying water and hydrogen released by regolith upon heating. Field test results for the quantification of water using LWRD showed that the volcanic ash (tephra) samples contained 0.15-0.41% water, in agreement with GC water measurements. Reduction of the RH in the surge tank to near zero during recirculation show that the water is captured by the water beds as desired. The water can be recovered by heating the Water Beds to 230 C or higher. Test results for the capture and quantification of pure hydrogen have shown that over 90% of the hydrogen can be captured and 98% of the absorbed hydrogen can be recovered upon heating the hydride to 400 C and desorbing the hydrogen several times into the evacuated surge tank. Thus, the essential requirement of capturing hydrogen and recovering it has been demonstrated. ,

Description: The lower mound strata of Gale Crater provide a diverse set of chemical environments for exploration by the varied tools of the Curiosity Rover of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Mission. Orbital imaging and spectroscopy clearly reveal distinct layers of hydrated minerals, sulfates, and clays with abundant evidence of a variety of fluvial processes. The three instruments of the MSL Sample Analysis at aMars (SAM) investigation, the Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (QMS), the Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS), and the Gas Chromatograph (GC) are designed to analyze either atmospheric gases or volatiles thermally evolved or chemically extracted from powdered rock or soil. The presence or absence of organic compounds in these layers is of great interest since such an in situ search for this type of record has not been successfully implemented since the mid-60s Viking GCMS experiments. However, regardless of the outcome of the analysis for organics, the abundance and isotopic composition of thermally evolved inorganic compounds should also provide a rich data set to complement the mineralogical and elemental information provided by other MSL instruments. In addition, these evolved gas analysis (EGA) experiments will help test sedimentary models proposed by Malin and Edgett (2000) and then further developed by Milliken et al (2010) for Gale Crater. In the SAM EGA experiments the evolution temperatures of H2O, CO2, SO2, O2, or other simple compounds as the samples are heated in a helium stream to 1000 C provides information on mineral types and their associations. The isotopic composition of O, H, C, and S can be precisely determined in several evolved compounds and compared with the present day atmosphere. Such SAM results might be able to test mineralogical evidence of changing sedimentary and alteration processes over an extended period of time. For example, Bibring et al (2006) have suggested such a major shift from early nonacidic to later acidic alteration. We will illustrate through a variety of evolved gas experiments implemented under SAM-like gas flow and temperature ramp conditions on terrestrial analog minerals on high fidelity Sam breadboards the type of chemical information we expect SAM to provide.

Description: We have developed a lidar technique for measuring the tropospheric C02 concentrations as a candidate for NASA's planned ASCENDS mission. Our technique uses two pulsed laser transmitters allowing simultaneous measurement of a C02 absorption line in the 1570 nm band, 02 extinction in the Oxygen A-band and surface height and backscatter. The lidar measures the energy and time of flight of the laser echoes reflected from the atmosphere and surface. The lasers are stepped in wavelength across the C02 line and an 02 line region during the measurement. The receiver uses a telescope and photon counting detectors, and measures the background light and energies of the laser echoes from the surface along with scattering from any aerosols in the path. The gas extinction and column densities for the C02 and 02 gases are estimated from the ratio of the on- and off- line signals via the DIAL technique. Pulsed laser signals and a time gated receiver are used to isolate the laser echo signals from the surface, to reject laser photons scattered in the atmosphere, and measure the surface height and scattering profile in the path. We have recently completed a second design study for the space instrument. For the study, we selected a nominal sun-synchronous orbit with an altitude of 400 km and equator crossing time of 1:30 pm, and a receiver telescope with 1.5 m diameter.

Description: Internal plasma sources usually arise in planetary magnetospheres as a product of stellar ablation processes. With the ignition of a new star and the onset of its ultraviolet and stellar wind emissions, much of the volatiles in the stellar system undergo a phase transition from gas to plasma. Condensation and accretion into a disk is replaced by radiation and stellar wind ablation of volatile materials from the system- Planets or smaller bodies that harbor intrinsic magnetic fields develop an apparent shield against direct stellar wind impact, but UV radiation still ionizes their gas phases, and the resulting internal plasmas serve to conduct currents to and from the central body along reconnected magnetic field linkages. Photoionization and thermalization of electrons warms the ionospheric topside, enhancing Jeans' escape of super-thermal particles, with ambipolar diffusion and acceleration. Moreover, observations and simulations of auroral processes at Earth indicate that solar wind energy dissipation is concentrated by the geomagnetic field by a factor of 10-100, enhancing heavy species plasma and gas escape from gravity, and providing more current carrying capacity. Thus internal plasmas enable coupling with the plasma, neutral gas and by extension, the entire body. The stellar wind is locally loaded and slowed to develop the required power. The internal source plasma is accelerated and heated, inflating the magnetosphere as it seeks escape, and is ultimately blown away in the stellar wind. Bodies with little sensible atmosphere may still produce an exosphere of sputtered matter when exposed to direct solar wind impact. Bodies with a magnetosphere and internal sources of plasma interact more strongly with the stellar wind owing to the magnetic linkage between the two created by reconnection.

Description: A profiling airborne LiDAR is used to estimate the forest resources of Hedmark County, Norway, a 27390 square kilometer area in southeastern Norway on the Swedish border. One hundred five profiling flight lines totaling 9166 km were flown over the entire county; east-west. The lines, spaced 3 km apart north-south, duplicate the systematic pattern of the Norwegian Forest Inventory (NFI) ground plot arrangement, enabling the profiler to transit 1290 circular, 250 square meter fixed-area NFI ground plots while collecting the systematic LiDAR sample. Seven hundred sixty-three plots of the 1290 plots were overflown within 17.8 m of plot center. Laser measurements of canopy height and crown density are extracted along fixed-length, 17.8 m segments closest to the center of the ground plot and related to basal area, timber volume and above- and belowground dry biomass. Linear, nonstratified equations that estimate ground-measured total aboveground dry biomass report an R(sup 2) = 0.63, with an regression RMSE = 35.2 t/ha. Nonstratified model results for the other biomass components, volume, and basal area are similar, with R(sup 2) values for all models ranging from 0.58 (belowground biomass, RMSE = 8.6 t/ha) to 0.63. Consistently, the most useful single profiling LiDAR variable is quadratic mean canopy height, h (sup bar)(sub qa). Two-variable models typically include h (sup bar)(sub qa) or mean canopy height, h(sup bar)(sub a), with a canopy density or a canopy height standard deviation measure. Stratification by productivity class did not improve the nonstratified models, nor did stratification by pine/spruce/hardwood. County-wide profiling LiDAR estimates are reported, by land cover type, and compared to NFI estimates.

Description: Our previous analysis of cometary samples returned to Earth by NASA's Stardust spacecraft showed several amines and amino acids, but the or igin of these compounds could not be firmly established. Here, we pre sent the stable carbon isotopic ratios of glycine and E-amino-n-caproic acid (EACA), the two most abundant amino acids identified in Stardu st-returned foil samples measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrom etry coupled with isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The Delta C-13 value for glycine of +29 +/- ? 6%: strongly suggests an extraterrestrial origin For glycine, while the Delta C-13 value for EACA of -25 +/-2 % indicates terrestrial contamination by Nylon-6 during curation. This represents the first detection of a cometary amino acid.

Description: Since the Apollo era the electric potential of the Moon has been a subject of interest and debate. Deployed by three Apollo missions, Apollo 12, Apollo 14 and Apollo 15, the Suprathermal Ion Detector Experiment (SIDE) determined the sunlit lunar surface potential to be about +10 Volts using the energy spectra of lunar ionospheric thermal ions accelerated toward the Moon. We present an analysis of Apollo 14 SIDE "resonance" events that indicate the lunar surface potential increases when the Moon traverses the dawn bow shock. By analyzing Wind spacecraft crossings of the terrestrial bow shock at approximately this location and employing current balancing models of the lunar surface, we suggest causes for the increasing potential. Determining the origin of this phenomenon will improve our ability to predict the lunar surface potential in support of human exploration as well as provide models for the behavior of other airless bodies when they traverse similar features such as interplanetary shocks, both of which are goals of the NASA Lunar Science Institute's Dynamic Response of the Environment At the Moon (DREAM) team.

Description: Remote sensing indicates the presence of hydrogen rich regions associated with the lunar poles. The logical hypothesis is that there is cryogenically trapped water ice located in craters at the lunar poles. Some of the craters have been in permanent darkness for a billion years. The presence of water at the poles as well as other scientific advantages of a polar base, have influenced NASA plans for the lunar outpost. The lunar outpost has water and oxygen requirements on the order of 1 ton per year scaling up to as much as 5 tons per year. Microwave heating of the frozen permafrost has unique advantages for water extraction. Proof of principle experiments have successfully demonstrated that microwaves will couple to the cryogenic soil in a vacuum and the sublimed water vapor can be successfully captured on a cold trap. Dielectric property measurements of lunar soil simulant have been measured. Microwave absorption and attenuation in lunar soil simulant has been correlated with measured dielectric properties. Future work will be discussed.

Description: The MESSENGER mission to Mercury offers our first opportunity to explore this planet's miniature magnetosphere since Mariner 10's brief fly-bys in 1974-5. The magnetosphere of Mercury is the smallest in the solar system with its magnetic field typically standing off the solar wind only approximately 1000 km above the surface. An overview of the MESSENGER mission and its January 14th and October 6th, 2008 close flybys of Mercury will be provided. Primary science objectives and the science instrumentation will be described. Initial results from MESSENGER will be discussed with an emphasis on the magnetic field and charged particle measurements.

Description: Models are foundational for estimating states of the earth's climate system, both as tools to extrapolate information in time and space, and as observation 'operators' used to relate what is analyzed and predicted to what is observed. Expanding the simulation approach further, observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs) are designed to mimic the complete process of analyzing the climate state by replacing real observations with entirely simulated ones determined from a model-based depiction of nature. OSSEs provide a framework to 'fly' simulated satellite instruments through a synthetic atmosphere and investigate the trade-spaces of measurements for various satellite configurations and sampling strategies, and assess their measurement impact on modeling and forecasting capabilities. Such a tool is a crucial but as yet unfulfilled need for future mission selection and design. The components of a state-of-the-art OSSE system are being assembled at the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO, Code 610.1) at NASA/GSFC, leveraging on the GMAO's existing modeling and data assimilation infrastructure for numerical weather prediction (NWP). The OSSE framework is based on the GMAO's Goddard Earth Observing System atmospheric general circulation model, version 5 (GEOS-5) and the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) observational analysis scheme, combined with the Goddard Chemistry, Aerosol, Radiation, and Transport (GOCART) model developed by the Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Branch (Code 613.3). This system is an evolving, key component of Goddard's planned development of an Integrated Earth System Analysis (IESA) capability, which will bring together into a single, fully interactive system Goddard's modeling and assimilation efforts in atmosphere, ocean and chemistry and aerosols to provide a comprehensive analysis and prediction system for weather and climate In addition to providing a state-of-the-art capability for assimilating current observation types, GEOS-5, and the future IESA, provide the capability to identify the need for, and assess the potential impact of, future observing systems under consideration for improving weather and climate prediction.

Description: A relatively unknown terrestrial fluvial environment, the mesoscale megafan, provides analogs for various Martian landscapes, including the etched unit (etched unit, Unite E of Arvidson et al., 2003; ridge-forming unit R of Edgett, 2005) of the Sinus Meridiani region on Mars. A global survey of Earth shows that megafans are very large partial cones of dominantly fluvial sediment with radii on the order of hundreds of km, and very low slopes. Responsible fluvial processes are sufficiently different from those of classical arid alluvial fans and deltas that it is useful to class megafans as separate features. The megafan model calls into question two commonly held ideas. 1. Earth examples prove that topographic basins per se are unnecessary for the accumulation of large sedimentary bodies. 2. River channels are by no means restricted to valleys (Meridiani sediments are termed a "valley-ed volume" of Edgett). These perspectives reveal unexpected parallels with features at Meridiani-several channel-like features that are widespread, mostly as ridges inverted by eolian erosion; channel networks covering thousands of sq km, especially on intercrater plains; and regional relationships of sediment bodies situated immediately downstream of highland masses. These all suggest that fluvial explanations are at least part of the Meridiani story.

Description: The AM Short Course on The Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) data and accessibility will be held on January 11, 2009 preceding the 89th Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Preliminary programs, registration, hotel, and general information will be posted on the AMS Web site in mid-September 2008. Retrospective-analyses (or reanalyses) have been established as an important tool in weather and climate research over the last decade. As computer power increases, the data assimilation and modeling systems improve and become more advanced, the input data quality increases and so reanalyses become more reliable. In 2008, NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office began producing a new reanalysis called the Modem Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA). The initial data from the reanalysis has been made available to the community and should be complete through 30 years (1979-present) by Fall of 2009. MERRA has taken advantage of the advancement of computing resources to provide users more data than previously available. The native spatial resolution is nominally 1/2 degrees and the surface two dimensional data are one hourly frequency. In addition to the meteorological analysis data, complete mass, energy and momentum budget data and also stratospheric data are provided. The eventual data holdings will exceed 150Tb. In order to facilitate user accessibility to the data, it will be stored in online hard drives (not tape storage) and available through several portals. Subsetting tools will also be available to allow users to tailor their data requests. The goals of this short course are to provide hands on users of reanalyses instruction on MERRA systems and also interactive experience with the online data and access tools. The course is intended for students and research scientists who will be actively interested in accessing and applying MERRA data in their weather, climate or applications work. The course has three parts. There will be an overview of the MERRA system, the validation of the system and the native data format. Second, Instructors will provide examples of weather and climate data analysis using various software packages (primarily GrADS) as well as the online access tools for subsetting and download, as well as visualization (e.g. Giovanni and Google Earth). This will also include examples on changing the data format to fit user's preferences and also to regrid the data for comparisons to other reanalyses and observational data. Lastly, there will he time set aside for participants to have hands on access to the data and software while interacting with the instructors and other developers. The course convener is Dr. Michael Bosilovich, NASA GSFC Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO). He will be joined by several GMAO, Goddard Earth Science Data and information Services Center (GES DISC) and Software Integration and Visualization Office (SIVO) staff.

Description: The evolution of the early moon was dominated by two processes (i) crystallization of the Lunar Magma Ocean (LMO) and differentiation of potassium-rare earth element-phosphorous-rich residual magma reservoir referred to as KREEP, and (ii) an intense meteorite bombardment referred to as lunar cataclysm . The exact timing of these processes is disputed, and resolution relies on collection and interpretation of precise age data. This study examines the microstructure and geochronology of zircon from lunar impact breccias collected during the Apollo 17 mission. A large zircon clast within lunar breccia 72215,195 shows sector zoning in optical microscopy, cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging and Raman mapping, and indicates that it was a relict fragment of a much larger magmatic grain. Sensitive high resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U-Pb analysis of the zircon shows that U and Th concentration correlate with sector zoning, with darkest CL domains corresponding with high-U and Th (approx.150 and approx.100 ppm respectively), and the brightest-CL sectors containing approx.30-50 ppm U and approx.10-20 ppm Th. This indicates that variations in optical CL and Raman properties correspond to differential accumulation of alpha-radiation damage in each sector. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) mapping shows that the quality of electron backscatter patterns (band contrast) varies with sector zoning, with the poorest quality patterns obtained from high-U and Th, dark-CL zones. EBSD mapping also reveals a deformation microstructure that is cryptic in optical, CL and Raman imaging. Two orthogonal sets of straight discrete and gradational low-angle boundaries accommodate approx.12 misorientation across the grain. The deformation bands are parallel to the crystallographic {a}-planes of the zircon, have misorientation axes parallel to the c-axis, and are geometrically consistent with formation by dislocation creep associated with 〈100〉{010} slip. The deformation bands are unlike curved morphology of crystal-plastic microstructures in tectonically deformed terrestrial zircon, and geometrically similar to dislocation microstructures reported in experimentally shocked zircon. We interpret these crystal-plastic deformation microstructures to have resulted from a significant impact, either directly from impact shock, or during ductile flow directly following the impact. The deformation bands appear to continue undeflected through the non-indexed, radiation-damaged areas of the grain, which suggests that the orientation variation predates any significant mechanical weakening from radiation damage in the grain, and therefore occurred early in its history.

Description: INTRODUCTION: NASA's plans for lunar surface exploration include pressurized suitport rovers that are quickly ingressed and egressed with minimal consumables losses. This capability enables crewmembers to perform multiple short extravehicular activities (EVAs) at different locations in a single day versus a single 8-hr EVA. Modeling work and empirical human and animal data indicate that intermittent recompressions between EVA suit pressure and cabin pressure reduce decompression stress. Savings in crew time and gas losses may also be achieved if the N2 purge is shortened to 2 minutes, achieving 80% O2 (vs. 8 minutes, 95% O2). METHODS: A validated Tissue Bubble Dynamics Model was used to predict decompression stress using 80% and 95% O2 breathing mixtures during 3 x 2-hr EVAs (4.3 PSIA) with 1hr recompressions back to 8.0 PSIA (32% O2) versus a single 8-hr EVA. 15 minutes was spent at 6.0 PSIA before depressurizations to 4.3 PSIA; initial EVA tasks could be performed during this time. Model validation was based on significant prediction (p〈0.001) and goodness of fit with 84 cases of DCS in 668 altitude exposures (McFadden s rho-squared=0.214). RESULTS: A 2.2% predicted increase in DCS risk due to the shortened purge is more than compensated for by a predicted 2.5% reduction in DCS risk due to intermittent recompression. 15 minutes at 80% O2, 6.0 PSIA prior to a 4.3 PSIA EVA prevents supersaturation in the brain and spinal cord (5-10 minute half-time compartments) and reduces tissue tensions in 40 min compartments, where most of the body s inert gas is located, to approximately the same levels (4.39 vs 4.00 PSIA) as achieved during a 40 min 95% O2 prebreathe at 10.2 PSIA. CONCLUSIONS: Intermittent recompressions between lunar EVAs may enable reductions in suit purge and prebreathe requirements, decompression stress, and/or suit operating pressures.

Description: The formation of cometary CS molecules from carbon disulfide, CS2 , was proposed about 20 years before the latter's detection in comet 122P/de Vico by Jackson et al. (2002). However, the origin of CS2 has received little attention from either experimentalists or theorists. As part of our on-going laboratory program to investigate cometary molecules we have examined chemical reactions that lead to CS2 in the solid state. Icy mixtures of known cometary molecules were proton irradiated near 10 K to doses of several eV per molecule. Mid-IR spectroscopy was used as an in situ probe to record both CS2 formation in the ices and the destruction of precursors. We find that the most likely route to cometary CS2 is through OCS by way of the S + CO reaction.

Description: This presentation discusses a NASA Stennis Space Center project in which NASA-supported satellite and aerial data is being used to aid state and federal agencies in restoring the Mississippi barrier islands. Led by the Applied Science and Technology Project Office (ASTPO), this project will produce geospatial information products from multiple NASA-supported data sources, including Landsat, ASTER, and MODIS satellite data as well as ATLAS multispectral, CAMS multispectral, AVIRIS hyperspectral, EAARL, and other aerial data. Project objectives include the development and testing of a regional sediment transport model and the monitoring of barrier island restoration efforts through remote sensing. Barrier islands provide invaluable benefits to the State of Mississippi, including buffering the mainland from storm surge impacts, providing habitats for valuable wildlife and fisheries habitat, offering accessible recreational opportunities, and preserving natural environments for educating the public about coastal ecosystems and cultural resources. Unfortunately, these highly valued natural areas are prone to damage from hurricanes. For example, Hurricane Camille in 1969 split Ship Island into East and West Ship Island. Hurricane Georges in 1998 caused additional land loss for the two Ship Islands. More recently, Hurricanes Ivan, Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike impacted the Mississippi barrier islands. In particular, Hurricane Katrina caused major damage to island vegetation and landforms, killing island forest overstories, overwashing entire islands, and causing widespread erosion. In response, multiple state and federal agencies are working to restore damaged components of these barrier islands. Much of this work is being implemented through federally funded Coastal Impact Assessment and Mississippi Coastal Improvement programs. One restoration component involves the reestablishment of the island footprints to that in 1969. Our project will employ NASA remote sensing data and products to support these federally funded efforts on multiple fronts. Landsat and ASTER data is being analyzed to assess changes in barrier island land cover over the last 35 years. ASTER, SRTM, and EAARL terrain products and other NASA airborne imagery are being applied in assessing changes in barrier island geomorphology and geospatial extent. MODIS data is being examined as a tool for sediment transport modeling by supplying geospatial data that quantifies in-water sediment concentrations. MODIS satellite data is being assessed for monitoring changes in the spatial extent of individual barrier islands. Results thus far indicate that NASA data products are useful in assessing barrier island conditions and changes. This value is enhanced with additional historical geospatial data, commercial high resolution satellite data, other non-NASA aerial imagery, and field survey data. The project s products are relevant to the Gulf of Mexico Alliance priority issues, including coastal habitat conservation, restoration and coastal community resilience. Such products will be available to state and federal agencies involved with coastal restoration. Potential end-users of these products include the National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, and Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.

Description: NASA's successful conduct of the Apollo Program greatly enhanced the prestige of the United States and remains broadly accepted as America's gift to all Mankind. NASA's accomplishments continue to amaze the world. With the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) Americans once again tasked NASA to carry out a project that is expected to provide inspiration and economic stimulus to the United States and to the world. In preparation NASA has thoroughly examined space program precedents. There is, however, another precedent which has not been examined in this context but whose scope and environment in many ways parallel the VSE. This project was initiated by a team that had, ten years before, successfully completed an effort that, at a cost of $151 billion (2008 values), had pushed the envelope of technology, brought economic growth, established their country as the world leader in engineering, and been broadly accepted as their country s gift to Mankind. The new project was again inspired by popular desire to enhance national prestige and make yet another major contribution to Humanity. The new effort was predicted to require eight years and $156 billion (2008 values). However, after eight years and expenditures of 80% beyond the baseline, the project collapsed amid bankruptcy, political scandal, and criminal prosecution. This paper applies current aerospace project metrics, such as earned value analysis, to review the strategic decisions in this historic failure and describe its ultimate collapse. Key mistakes are identified, and lessons are drawn which may prove useful in guiding the VSE.

Description: NASA's Stardust spacecraft returned to Earth samples from comet 81P/Wild 2 in January 2006. Preliminary examinations revealed the presence of a suite of organic compounds including several amines and amino acids, but the origin of these compounds could not be identified. Here, we present the carbon isotopic ratios of glycine and e-aminocaproic acid (EACA), the two most abundant amino acids, in Stardust-returned foil samples measured by gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry coupled with quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-CAMS/IRMS).

Description: Water may be used as radiation shielding for Solar Particle Events (SPE) to protect crewmembers in the Lunar Electric Rover (LER). Because the water is already present for radiation protection, it could also provide a mass efficient solution to the vehicle's thermal control system. This water can be frozen by heat rejection from a radiator and used as a Phase Change Material (PCM) for thermal storage. Use of this water as a PCM can eliminate the need for a pumped fluid loop thermal control system as well as reduce the required size of the radiator. This paper describes the testing and analysis performed for the Rover Engineering Development Unit (REDU), a scaled-down version of a water PCM heat sink for the LER. The REDU was tested in a thermal-vacuum chamber at environmental temperatures similar to those of a horizontal radiator panel on the lunar surface. Testing included complete freeze and melt cycles along with scaled transient heat load profiles simulating a 24-hour day for the rover.

Description: The workshop revolved around three framing ideas or scenarios about the evolution of virtual environments: 1. Remote exploration: The ability to create high fidelity environments rendered from external data or models such that exploration, design and analysis that is truly interoperable with the physical world can take place within them. 2. We all get to go: The ability to engage anyone in being a part of or contributing to an experience (such as a space mission), no matter their training or location. It is the creation of a new paradigm for education, outreach, and the conduct of science in society that is truly participatory. 3. Become the data: A vision of a future where boundaries between the physical and the virtual have ceased to be meaningful. What would this future look like? Is this plausible? Is it desirable? Why and why not?

Description: The ARTEMIS mission will be the first to navigate to and perform stationkeeping operations around the Earth-Moon L1 and L2 Lagrangian points. The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has previous mission experience flying in the Sun-Earth L1 (SOHO, ACE, WIND, ISEE-3) and L2 regimes (WMAP) and have maintained these spacecraft in libration point orbits by performing regular orbit stationkeeping maneuvers. The ARTEMIS mission will build on these experiences, but stationkeeping in Earth-Moon libration orbits presents new challenges since the libration point orbit period is on the order of two weeks rather than six months. As a result, stationkeeping maneuvers to maintain the Lissajous orbit will need to be performed frequently, and the orbit determination solutions between maneuvers will need to be quite accurate. The ARTEMIS mission is a collaborative effort between NASA GSFC, the University of California at Berkeley (UCB), and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The ARTEMIS mission is part of the THEMIS extended mission. ARTEMIS comprises two of the five THEMIS spacecraft that will be maneuvered from near-Earth orbits into lunar libration orbits using a sequence of designed orbital maneuvers and Moon & Earth gravity assists. In July 2009, a series of orbit-raising maneuvers began the proper orbit phasing of the two spacecraft for the first lunar flybys. Over subsequent months, additional propulsive maneuvers and gravity assists will be performed to move each spacecraft though the Sun-Earth weak stability regions and eventually into Earth-Moon libration point orbits. We will present the overall orbit designs for the two ARTEMIS spacecraft and provide analysis results of the 3/4-body dynamics, and the sensitivities of the trajectory design to both maneuver errors and orbit determination errors. We will present results from the. initial orbit-raising maneuvers.

Description: No abstract available

Description: We are developing the VAPoR (Volatile Analysis by Pyrolysis of Regolith) instrument towards studying soil composition, volatiles, and trapped noble gases in the polar regions of the Moon. VAPOR will ingest a soil sample and conduct analysis by pyrolysis and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ToF-MS). Here, we describe miniaturization efforts within this development, including a carbon nanotube (CNT) field emission electron gun that is under consideration for use as the electron impact ionization source for the ToF-MS.

Description: Lightning has long been postulated as the agent of Chondru|e formation in the solar nebula, but it may have an additional role to play as well. Lightning bolts of almost any scale will both vaporize dust and liberate oxygen atoms that will then interact with both nebular gases as well as the refractory silicate vapor as it re-condenses. Such processes should result in the addition of the heavy oxygen isotopes to the growing silicate grains while the light oxygen-16 becomes part of the gas phase water. This process will proceed to some extent throughout the history of any turbulent nebula and will result in the gradual increase of O-16 in the gas phase and in a much larger relative increase in the O-17 and O-18 content of the nebular dust. Laboratory experiments have demonstrated the production of such "heavy oxygen enriched", non-mass-dependently-fractionated dust grains in a high voltage discharge in a hydrogen rich gas containing small quantities of silane, pentacarbonyl iron and oxygen.

Description: Enabling the commercial development of space is key to the future colonization of space and key to a viable space exploration program. Without commercial development following in the footsteps of exploration it is difficult to justify and maintain public interest in the efforts. NASA's exploration program has suffered from the lack of a good commercial economic strategy for decades. Only small advances in commercial space have moved forward, and only up to Earth orbit with the commercial satellite industry. A way to move beyond this phase is to begin the establishment of human commercial activities in space in partnership with the human exploration program. In 2007 and 2008, the authors researched scenarios to make space exploration and commercial space development more feasible as part of their graduate work in the Space Architecture Program at the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture at the University of Houston, Houston, Texas. Through this research it became apparent that the problems facing future colonization are much larger than the technology being developed or the international missions that our space agencies are pursuing. These issues are addressed in this paper with recommendations for space exploration, commercial development, and space policy that are needed to form a strategic plan for human expansion into space. In conclusion, the authors found that the current direction in space as carried out by our space agencies around the world is definitely needed, but is inadequate and incapable of resolving all of the issues that inhibit commercial space development. A bolder vision with strategic planning designed to grow infrastructures and set up a legal framework for commercial markets will go a long way toward enabling the future colonization of space.

Description: Orbital measurements of neutrons by the Lunar Exploring Neutron Detector (LEND) onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter are being used to quantify the spatial distribution of near surface hydrogen (H). Inferred H concentration maps have low signal-to-noise (SN) and image restoration (IR) techniques are being studied to enhance results. A single-blind. two-phase study is described in which four teams of researchers independently developed image restoration techniques optimized for LEND data. Synthetic lunar epithermal neutron emission maps were derived from LEND simulations. These data were used as ground truth to determine the relative quantitative performance of the IR methods vs. a default denoising (smoothing) technique. We review and used factors influencing orbital remote sensing of neutrons emitted from the lunar surface to develop a database of synthetic "true" maps for performance evaluation. A prior independent training phase was implemented for each technique to assure methods were optimized before the blind trial. Method performance was determined using several regional root-mean-square error metrics specific to epithermal signals of interest. Results indicate unbiased IR methods realize only small signal gains in most of the tested metrics. This suggests other physically based modeling assumptions are required to produce appreciable signal gains in similar low SN IR applications.

Description: An alternative has been developed to direct measurement for determining the density of the atmosphere of the Saturn moon Titan as a function of altitude. The basic idea is to deduce the density versus altitude from telemetric data indicative of the effects of aerodynamic torques on the attitude of the Cassini Saturn orbiter spacecraft as it flies past Titan at various altitudes. The Cassini onboard attitude-control software includes a component that can estimate three external per-axis torques exerted on the spacecraft. These estimates are available via telemetry.

Description: A report discusses the development of a Mars surface, laboratory-based solar simulator to create solar cells that can function better on Mars. The Mars Optimized Solar cell Technology (MOST) required defining the surface incident spectrum, developing an appropriate laboratory solar simulator measurement capability, and developing and testing commercial cells modified for the Mars surface spectrum.

Description: Many significant advances have occurred during the last two decades in remote sensing instrumentation, computation, storage, and communication technology. A series of Earth observing satellites have been launched by U.S. and international agencies and have been operating and collecting global data on a regular basis. These advances have created a data rich environment for scientific research and applications. NASA s Earth Observing System (EOS) Data and Information System (EOSDIS) has been operational since August 1994 with support for pre-EOS data. Currently, EOSDIS supports all the EOS missions including Terra (1999), Aqua (2002), ICESat (2002) and Aura (2004). EOSDIS has been effectively capturing, processing and archiving several terabytes of standard data products each day. It has also been distributing these data products at a rate of several terabytes per day to a diverse and globally distributed user community (Ramapriyan et al. 2009). There are other NASA-sponsored data system activities including measurement-based systems such as the Ocean Data Processing System and the Precipitation Processing system, and several projects under the Research, Education and Applications Solutions Network (REASoN), Making Earth Science Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs), and the Advancing Collaborative Connections for Earth-Sun System Science (ACCESS) programs. Together, these activities provide a rich set of resources constituting a value chain for users to obtain data at various levels ranging from raw radiances to interdisciplinary model outputs. The result has been a significant leap in our understanding of the Earth systems that all humans depend on for their enjoyment, livelihood, and survival. The trend in the community today is towards many distributed sets of providers of data and services. Despite this, visions for the future include users being able to locate, fuse and utilize data with location transparency and high degree of interoperability, and being able to convert data to information and usable knowledge in an efficient, convenient manner, aided significantly by automation (Ramapriyan et al. 2004; NASA 2005). We can look upon the distributed provider environment with capabilities to convert data to information and to knowledge as an Intelligent Archive in the Context of a Knowledge Building system (IA-KBS). Some of the key capabilities of an IA-KBS are: Virtual Product Generation, Significant Event Detection, Automated Data Quality Assessment, Large-Scale Data Mining, Dynamic Feedback Loop, and Data Discovery and Efficient Requesting (Ramapriyan et al. 2004).

Description: From May of 1973 to February of 1974, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration conducted a series of three manned missions to the Skylab space station, a voluminous vehicle largely descendant of Apollo hardware, and America s first space station. The crewmembers of these three manned missions spent record breaking durations of time in microgravity (28 days, 59 days and 84 days, respectively) and gave the U.S. space program its first experiences with long-duration space flight. The program overcame a number of obstacles (including a significant crippling of the Skylab vehicle) to conduct a lauded scientific program that encompassed life sciences, astronomy, solar physics, materials sciences and Earth observation. Skylab has more to offer than the results of its scientific efforts. The operations conducted by the Skylab crews and ground personnel represent a rich legacy of operational experience. As we plan for our return to the moon and the subsequent manned exploration of Mars, it is essential to utilize the experiences and insights of those involved in previous programs. Skylab and SMEAT (Skylab Medical Experiments Altitude Test) personnel have unique insight into operations being planned for the Constellation Program, such as umbilical extra-vehicular activity and water landing/recovery of long-duration crewmembers. Skylab was also well known for its habitability and extensive medical suite; topics which deserve further reflection as we prepare for lunar habitation and missions beyond Earth s immediate sphere of influence. The Skylab Medical Operations Summit was held in January 2008. Crewmembers and medical personnel from the Skylab missions and SMEAT were invited to participate in a two day summit with representatives from the Constellation Program medical operations community. The purpose of the summit was to discuss issues pertinent to future Constellation operations. The purpose of this document is to formally present the recommendations of the Skylab and SMEAT participants.

Description: West Nile Virus is a mosquito-borne virus of the family Flaviviridae. It infects birds and various mammals, including humans, and can cause encephalitis that may prove fatal, notably among vulnerable populations. Since its identification in New York City in 1999, WNV has become established in a broad range of ecological settings throughout North America, infecting more than 25,300 people and killing 1133 as of 2008 (CDC,2009). WNV is transmitted by mosquitoes that feed on infected birds. As a result, the degree of human infection depends on local ecology and human exposure. This study hypothesizes that remote sensing and GIS can be used to analyze environmental determinants of WNV transmission, such as climate, elevation, land cover, and vegetation densities, to map areas of WNV risk for surveillance and intervention.

Description: The multi-agency Flight in Icing Remote Sensing Team (FIRST), a consortium of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), has developed technologies for remotely detecting hazardous inflight icing conditions. The USACE Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) assessed the potential of onboard passive microwave radiometers for remotely detecting icing conditions ahead of aircraft. The dual wavelength system differences the brightness temperature of Space and clouds, with greater differences potentially indicating closer and higher magnitude cloud liquid water content (LWC). The Air Force RADiative TRANsfer model (RADTRAN) was enhanced to assess the flight track sensing concept, and a 'flying' RADTRAN was developed to simulate a radiometer system flying through simulated clouds. Neural network techniques were developed to invert brightness temperatures and obtain integrated cloud liquid water. In addition, a dual wavelength Direct-Detection Polarimeter Radiometer (DDPR) system was built for detecting hazardous drizzle drops. This paper reviews technology development to date and addresses initial polarimeter performance.

Description: This document reviews the Design Reference Architecture (DRA) for human exploration of Mars. The DRA represents the current best strategy for human missions. The DRA is not a formal plan, but provides a vision and context to tie current systems and technology developments to potential missions to Mars, and it also serves as a benchmark against which alternative architectures can be measured. The document also reviews the objectives and products of the 2007 study that was to update NASA's human Mars mission reference architecture, assess strategic linkages between lunar and Mars strategies, develop an understanding of methods for reducing cost/risk of human missions through investment in research, technology development and synergy with other exploration plans. There is also a review of the process by which the DRA will continue to be refined. The unique capacities of human exploration is reviewed. The possible goals and objectives of the first three human missions are presented, along with the recommendation that the mission involve a long stay visiting multiple sites.The deployment strategy is outlined and diagrammed including the pre-deployment of the many of the material requirements, and a six crew travel to Mars on a six month trajectory. The predeployment and the Orion crew vehicle are shown. The ground operations requirements are also explained. Also the use of resources found on the surface of Mars is postulated. The Mars surface exploration strategy is reviewed, including the planetary protection processes that are planned. Finally a listing of the key decisions and tenets is posed.

Description: Surface science operations on the Moon will require merging lessons from Apollo with new operation concepts that exploit the Constellation Lunar Architecture. Prototypes of lunar vehicles and robots are already under development and will change the way we conduct science operations compared to Apollo. To prepare for future surface operations on the Moon, NASA, along with several supporting agencies and institutions, conducted a high-fidelity lunar mission simulation with prototypes of the small pressurized rover (SPR) and unpressurized rover (UPR) (Fig. 1) at Black Point lava flow (Fig. 2), 40 km north of Flagstaff, Arizona from Oct. 19-31, 2008. This field test was primarily intended to evaluate and compare the surface mobility afforded by unpressurized and pressurized rovers, the latter critically depending on the innovative suit-port concept for efficient egress and ingress. The UPR vehicle transports two astronauts who remain in their EVA suits at all times, whereas the SPR concept enables astronauts to remain in a pressurized shirt-sleeve environment during long translations and while making contextual observations and enables rapid (less than or equal to 10 minutes) transfer to and from the surface via suit-ports. A team of field geologists provided realistic science scenarios for the simulations and served as crew members, field observers, and operators of a science backroom. Here, we present a description of the science team s operations and lessons learned.

Description: In the past, men like Leonardo da Vinci and Jules Verne imagined the future and envisioned fantastic inventions such as winged flying machines, submarines, and parachutes, and posited human adventures like transoceanic flight and journeys to the Moon. Today, many of their ideas are reality and form the basis for our modern world. While individual visionaries like da Vinci and Verne are remembered for the accuracy of their predictions, today entire nations are involved in the process of envisioning and defining the future development of mankind, both on and beyond the Earth itself. Recently, Russian, European, and Chinese teams have all announced plans for developing their own next generation human space vehicles. The Chinese have announced their intention to conduct human lunar exploration, and have flown three crewed space missions since 2003, including a flight with three crew members to test their extravehicular (spacewalking) capabilities in September 2008. Very soon, the prestige, economic development, scientific discovery, and strategic security advantage historically associated with leadership in space exploration and exploitation may no longer be the undisputed province of the United States. Much like the sponsors of the seafaring explorers of da Vinci's age, we are motivated by the opportunity to obtain new knowledge and new resources for the growth and development of our own civilization. NASA's new Constellation Program, established in 2005, is tasked with maintaining the United States leadership in space, exploring the Moon, creating a sustained human lunar presence, and eventually extending human operations to Mars and beyond. Through 2008, the Constellation Program developed a full set of detailed program requirements and is now completing the preliminary design phase for the new Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle, and the associated infrastructure necessary for humans to explore the Moon. Component testing is well underway, and integrated flight testing will begin in 2009. This white paper summarizes 3 years of Constellation Program progress and accomplishments, and it describes the foundation set for human lunar return in 2020.

Description: As the Constellation Program enters its fourth year, the Ares Projects have made substantial progress toward sending human explorers beyond Earth orbit. The Ares I crew launch vehicle, which will take six astronauts or cargo to the International Space Station or four astronauts to rendezvous with Ares V for missions to the Moon, is the first human-rated vehicle NASA has developed in over 30 years. Since the Exploration Systems Architecture Study in 2005, the Ares Projects have completed a successful system requirements review, system definition review, and preliminary design review for the Ares I crew launch vehicle. The Ares I elements are well into development, beginning with the Shuttle-derived, five-segment solid rocket motor that will provide first-stage propulsion. The first stage team has poured its first production simulation article motor and will be pouring and firing the first five-segment development motor in 2009. Large-scale tooling has been installed and tested to produce propellant tanks for the liquid-fuel upper stage at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Alabama. The initial upper stage units and main propulsion test article will be manufactured and tested at MSFC before transferring to Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. The upper stage engine team has completed powerpack testing using Apollo J-2 heritage hardware and begun construction of a new altitude test stand at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The flight and integrated testing group has designed and built hardware for the Ares I-X test flight scheduled for 2009, as well as begun refurbishing existing infrastructure to support ground testing. Additionally, a base configuration has been selected for the Ares V cargo launch vehicle, which will send the Altair lunar lander and Orion to the Moon. Today, the Ares Projects are well on the way to building America s next generation of exploration-capable launch vehicles.

Description: The 40th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference included sessions on: Phoenix: Exploration of the Martian Arctic; Origin and Early Evolution of the Moon; Comet Wild 2: Mineralogy and More; Astrobiology: Meteorites, Microbes, Hydrous Habitats, and Irradiated Ices; Phoenix: Soil, Chemistry, and Habitability; Planetary Differentiation; Presolar Grains: Structures and Origins; SPECIAL SESSION: Venus Atmosphere: Venus Express and Future Missions; Mars Polar Caps: Past and Present; SPECIAL SESSION: Lunar Missions: Results from Kaguya, Chang'e-1, and Chandrayaan-1, Part I; 5 Early Nebula Processes and Models; SPECIAL SESSION: Icy Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn: Cosmic Gymnasts; Mars: Ground Ice and Climate Change; SPECIAL SESSION: Lunar Missions: Results from Kaguya, Chang'e-1, and Chandrayaan-1, Part II; Chondrite Parent-Body Processes; SPECIAL SESSION: Icy Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn: Salubrious Surfaces; SNC Meteorites; Ancient Martian Crust: Primary Mineralogy and Aqueous Alteration; SPECIAL SESSION: Messenger at Mercury: A Global Perspective on the Innermost Planet; CAIs and Chondrules: Records of Early Solar System Processes; Small Bodies: Shapes of Things to Come; Sulfur on Mars: Rocks, Soils, and Cycling Processes; Mercury: Evolution and Tectonics; Venus Geology, Volcanism, Tectonics, and Resurfacing; Asteroid-Meteorite Connections; Impacts I: Models and Experiments; Solar Wind and Genesis: Measurements and Interpretation; Mars: Aqueous Processes; Magmatic Volatiles and Eruptive Conditions of Lunar Basalts; Comparative Planetology; Interstellar Matter: Origins and Relationships; Impacts II: Craters and Ejecta Mars: Tectonics and Dynamics; Mars Analogs I: Geological; Exploring the Diversity of Lunar Lithologies with Sample Analyses and Remote Sensing; Chondrite Accretion and Early History; Science Instruments for the Mars Science Lander; . Martian Gullies: Morphology and Origins; Mars: Dunes, Dust, and Wind; Mars: Volcanism; Early Solar System Chronology; Seek Out and Explore: Upcoming and Future Missions; Mars: Early History and Impact Processes; Mars Analogs II: Chemical and Spectral; Achondrites and their Parent Bodies; and Planning for Future Exploration of the Moon The poster sessions were: Lunar Missions: Results from Kaguya, Chang'e-1, and Chandrayaan-1; LRO and LCROSS; Geophysical Analysis of the Lunar Surface and Interior; Remote Observation and Geologic Mapping of the Lunar Surface; Lunar Spectroscopy; Venus Geology, Geophysics, Mapping, and Sampling; Planetary Differentiation; Bunburra and Buzzard Coulee: Recent Meteorite Falls; Meteorites: Terrestrial History; CAIs and Chondrules: Records of Early Solar System Processes; Volatile and Organic Compounds in Chondrites; Crashing Chondrites: Impact, Shock, and Melting; Ureilite Studies; Petrology and Mineralogy of the SNC Meteorites; Martian Meteorites; Phoenix Landing Site: Perchlorate and Other Tasty Treats; Mars Polar Atmospheres and Climate Modeling; Mars Polar Investigations; Mars Near-Surface Ice; Mars: A Volatile-Rich Planet; Mars: Geochemistry and Alteration Processes; Martian Phyllosilicates: Identification, Formation, and Alteration; Astrobiology; Instrument Concepts, Systems, and Probes for Investigating Rocks and Regolith; Seeing is Believing: UV, VIS, IR, X- and Gamma-Ray Camera and Spectrometer Instruments; Up Close and Personal: In Situ Analysis with Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry; Jupiter and Inscrutable Io; Tantalizing Titan; Enigmatic Enceladus and Intriguing Iapetus; Icy Satellites: Cryptic Craters; Icy Satellites: Gelid Geology/Geophysics; Icy Satellites: Cool Chemistry and Spectacular Spectroscopy; Asteroids and Comets; Comet Wild 2: Mineralogy and More; Hypervelocity Impacts: Stardust Models, LDEF, and ISPE; Presolar Grains; Early Nebular Processes: Models and Isotopes; Solar Wind and Genesis: Measurements and Interpretation; Education and Public Outreach; Mercury; Pursuing Lunar Exploration; Sources and Eruptionf Lunar Basalts; Chemical and Physical Properties of the Lunar Regolith; Lunar Dust and Transient Surface Phenomena; Lunar Databases and Data Restoration; Meteoritic Samples of the Moon; Chondrites, Their Clasts, and Alteration; Achondrites: Primitive and Not So Primitive; Iron Meteorites; Meteorite Methodology; Antarctic Micrometeorites; HEDs and Vesta; Dust Formation and Transformation; Interstellar Organic Matter; Early Solar System Chronology; Comparative Planetology; Impacts I: Models and Experiments; Impacts II: Craters and Ejecta; Mars: Volcanism; Mars: Tectonics and Dynamics; Martian Stratigraphy: Understanding the Geologic History of Mars Through the Sedimentary Rock Record; Mars: Valleys and Valley Networks; Mars: Aqueous Processes in Valles Marineris and the Southern Highlands; Mars: Aqueous Geomorphology; Martian Gullies: Morphology and Origins; Mars: Dunes, Dust, and Wind; Mars: Remote Sensing; Mars: Geologic Mapping, Photogrammetry, and Cratering; Martian Mineralogy: Constraints from Missions and Laboratory Investigations; Mars Analogs: Chemical and Physical; Mars Analogs: Sulfates and Sulfides; Missions: Approaches, Architectures, Analogs, and Actualities; Not Just Skin Deep: Electron Microscopy, Heat Flow, Radar, and Seismology Instruments and Planetary Data Systems, Techniques, and Interpretation.

Description: Jets of water ice from surface fractures near the south pole of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus produce a plume of gas and particles. The source of the jets may be a liquid water region under the ice shell-as suggested most recently by the discovery of salts in E-ring particles derived from the plume-or warm ice that is heated, causing dissociation of clathrate hydrates. Here we report that ammonia is present in the plume, along with various organic compounds, deuterium and, very probably, Ar-40. The presence of ammonia provides strong evidence for the existence of at least some liquid water, given that temperatures in excess of 180 K have been measured near the fractures from which the jets emanate. We conclude, from the overall composition of the material, that the plume derives from both a liquid reservoir (or from ice that in recent geological time has been in contact with such a reservoir) as well as from degassing, volatile-charged ice. As part of a general comprehensive review of the midsize saturnian satellites at the conclusion of the prime Cassini mission, PI McKinnon and co-I Barr contributed to three review chapters.